Wreckage
by Norsehound
Summary: An alternate-universe take on the events of Evangelion. Some things remain the same, but others are... broken.
1. The First Day

R+

* * *

I

THE FIRST DAY.

Shinji Ikari was summoned one day.

'Summoned'… not an ordinary word. Normally one would hear it used for something great and magnificent, like conjuring hellspawn of the occult. Or perhaps some great important figure calling to a minor official for a deep inquiry. It would feel like both to Shinji Ikari.

Before the summoning, Shinji's life was pretty ordinary. He was attending a boarding school and living in the house of his aunt and uncle on his father's side. He wasn't neglected here, only treated separately. They didn't have kids and didn't want any but seemed tolerant of Shinji's presence. They made it clear, though, that he wasn't their child and would never be considered as such. Shinji had accepted this.

The boarding school he attended was strict but imparted Shinji with a passable education and common sense of the world. Fraternization across social lines was frowned upon here, though. This, combined with his shy demeanor and closed-in personality meant he didn't have many (any really) lasting friendships. The female sex was likewise inaccessible to him, and the closest thing he had to a lovelife was whatever unrequited fantasies he dreamed up himself. Still, Shinji didn't seem to mind.

The only thing he could say he missed or regretted was not knowing his real parents. They were out there somewhere, but his memories were only in fragments. It had been years since he seen them.

He was never given a reason why he was abandoned. This had given Shinji, over the years, a growing corner of hatred in his mind for just being dumped. Given his attitude and worldview though, he masked it by acknowledging that things could be worse.

But the mask came off, even if slightly, when he was Summoned.

It was a letter from his Father.

Of the two parents his Father was the strongest in Shinji's memories. The last time he had seen his father was years ago at some public event. Shinji found out months later that his aunt and uncle had somehow maneuvered his Father into taking care of him. All the while, Shinji had faced an impassive wall, a silent figure. He didn't seem to want anything to do with his son, and it only gave Shinji more things to put in that closet of hate.

Now he was wanted. Somewhere.

Of course, his aunt and uncle opened all official mail sent for him by his folks, given the way they arranged their mail receiving system. After all they took care of his schooling and funding, so they had control over his letters too. As soon as they found out Shinji was wanted elsewhere they put their money together and worked to get Shinji out of their carefree lives. Shinji knew they were eager to be rid of him but like them said nothing about it directly. To admit they wanted to be free of this burden was to be impolite and inconsiderate to Shinji, even though it was a façade.

Shinji reviewed all of these facts on the train into Hakone. His baggage would follow when he forwarded whatever address he would be staying at to his relations who had cared for him over the years. Then he imagined they'd take that long-desired trip to America.

Shinji Ikari arrived on time. Stepping out of the train he again studied the only reference he was given on what he should do when he got here. The picture was of a woman, with short-cropped blond hair and a mole under her right eye. "I'll meet you at the station. Be a good boy and be prompt – R. Akagi" was all that adorned the letter.

It could be worse. He could be meeting his Father at the station.

He arrived at the station and found the woman waiting. She looked up from her book, smiled as she closed it, and said to him, "Shinji? I'm Dr. Akagi. I work for your father."

Mention of Shinji's father halted his greeting in his throat. He swallowed and tried again, "I… I see."

Ritsuko displayed no outward reaction to his hesitance. "Come with me, I'll take you to the base."

"The Base?"

"Yes, where your parents work."

Shinji's stillness remained. A base? Were his parents working for the military? He felt cold inside as this venture seemed to be getting worse, not better. He shivered all the way to Ritsuko's car and got in with his bag on his lap.

It was a quiet drive from the train station for the first ten minutes. Finally, the doctor broke the ice with, "Nervous?"

Shinji swallowed. "Y-Yes…"

"Understandable. Your father leaves that kind of impression."

No doubt about that, Shinji thought. But… "What about my mother?" Shinji asked.

Ritsuko paused for a moment before answering, "Your mother even more so. Both of them are very dedicated to their work."

Shinji nodded and his head bowed a degree. Knowing his father, he had hoped his mother was the polar opposite. From what the doctor inferred, she seemed to be just as terrible.

Shinji didn't raise his head again for a while, just stared at the dashboard lost in thought. Finally summing up to take the bull by the horns he asked, "Why was I called here?"

"I'm not at liberty to say just yet." The Doctor replied, "But what I can say is that you specifically, Shinji Ikari, were required for something we're doing at the facility."

What kind of experiments would specifically need him? Something related to his father and mother perhaps? This thought occupied him all the way until suddenly the world outside went dark. He looked up.

"Relax Shinji," The doctor said, "We're going underground."

"What? Under…"

"You'll see." The doctor replied. In the darkness Shinji didn't see her smirking.

Shinji waited and watched the lights of the vehicle elevator blurring by. He was about to ask what he was supposed to be seeing when suddenly the outside of the car blasted into brightness. Beneath him, he saw, was a fully formed geo-front.

"A Geo front!" He exclaimed and pressed his face to the glass. He had heard of such things from science fiction and in geology class but _never_ expected to see one here. It surpassed anything he could have imagined.

"Correct." Ritsuko replied, "This is our headquarters, NERV primary."

Shinji's eyes were glued to the entire scene as the train circled the geofront on its way down. It took a full five minutes to complete the circuit, slowing and then stopping when it reached the motor pool at the bottom of the facility. After parking, Shinji followed Ritsuko through the garage, beyond a security checkpoint, and into the base.

"Are you taking me to my father?" Shinji asked after a tentative ten minutes of travel.

"Yes." Ritsuko replied.

Shinji was quiet after that.

They rode a conveyor up what had to be hundreds of stories. Shinji lost count. It was mind-boggling to consider all this internal space hiding beneath the feet of everyday life. What did they _do_ down here anyway?

"In here." Ritsuko waved, gesturing him through a doorway into darkness. Shinji swallowed, then stepped inside.

He walked across a metal catwalk in the dim lighting until Ritsuko came to a stop. Shinji stopped beside her.

The door closed behind them.

"I-It's dark…"

Lights.

The first thing Shinji saw was a big, horrible, purple head staring straight at him.

"GARH!" Shinji panicked, stumbling backwards at the visage. His bag dropped and spilled some of the contents- a pencil rolling off the gantry-way and making a small splash in the amber liquid. Aside from that, the only other sound was the ringing of his exclamation.

Several seconds passed of frantic breathing before Shinji could ask, "W-Wh-What is that!?"

"An experiment." A voice from above called down. Shinji looked up.

The grim face of Gendo Ikari was staring back down at him.

"Father…" Shinji said breathlessly, eyes wide out of horror.

"It's been a while." Gendo said down to his son.

Shinji tried to regain his composure, lowering his head and staring at the mask. "What is this thing!?"

Another voice on high. "Ultimate All-Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon Evangelion test unit zero one."

Shinji slowly looked up.

Yui Ikari…mother… had joined Father. At this, Shinji's heart rate skyrocketed and he felt a little faint. "Mother…"

But she wasn't smiling. Her face was closed and impassive, staring down at him without any hint of maternal care. Shinji was confused.

"Shinji," Ritsuko said at his side, "You are the only one who can pilot this machine."

It took a moment for Shinji to register the fact that this horrible head was ridden by a living pilot. Once that connected, the thought that he would be piloting struck next. "WHAT!?" Shinji exploded as he turned to Ritsuko, then looked at the machine, "TH-This thing… can be piloted!?"

"That is correct." Gendo called from above.

Shinji stared up at the two figures high above him in the gantry way. He had his guesses as to why his parents summoned him here, but they were all blown to the wind the moment he stepped into Doctor Akagi's car. Even in his wildest guesses, this didn't come close.

"YOU MEAN YOU CALLED ME HERE FOR THAT!?" Shinji blasted.

"Yes." Gendo replied.

Shinji could only stare up at them. To be called to see them… almost… three years since he had contact with either of them. It wasn't to greet him warmly, to acknowledge his existence as their son, nor to apologize for the neglect of three years.

Shinji fell on his knees. "You mean… you don't even…" He left the rest unfinished, since it was obvious.

"Will you pilot it?" Gendo called from above.

Shinji didn't immediately respond. What would he do, go back and live with his aunt and uncle? How likely was it that they would be even more distant with him, disappointing them by coming back unwanted. What alternative was there to life here?

The horrors of living homeless crept into his thoughts. Not strictly in the sense of being out on the streets but… being an orphan. With no family. And what improvement would that be?

His arms shivered.

"Shinji," Ritsuko said, "You can say no, if you want to."

Shinji swallowed. "What do I have to do?"

High above, Gendo Ikari smirked.

* * *

After leaving the "cage" (a term that did nothing for Shinij's ease), Ritsuko escorted him to another office to settle away his medical and housing paperwork. "What do you do around here, Doctor Akagi?" He had asked en-route.

"I just work in hardware and maintenance. The Evangelions, and all technology, are my responsibility." She confessed nonchalantly, "I'm taking you to the person in charge of the pilot's needs."

Shinji swallowed. Hopefully whoever this was would be more human than anyone he's met around the base so far.

The office he entered seemed very stately. There was nothing out of order and the place was remarkably clean. "Kyoko?" Ritsuko asked through the door into the office, "I have your new pilot here."

"Bring him in Ritsuko." A voice called.

Ritsuko motioned through the doorway into the office and Shinji swallowed before entering.

The woman seated inside was in a pink shirt, black skirt, and also had a lab coat on. She was still typing furiously at her computer and didn't look up at Shinji. "Take a seat." She said.

Shinji did so, and swallowed. Ritsuko nodded. "I'll leave him in your capable hands, then?"

"Quite." The woman replied. Ritsuko left. Shinji turned to peer out the office door to watch the only friendly face in this entire place leave him behind.

Finally the woman stopped typing and turned. "Shinji Ikari is your name?"

"Yes ma'am." Shinji replied. He could guess authoritative figures a mile away- having several in his boarding school- and knew the appropriate rules of decorum. This woman seemed to expect a high degree of respect.

"All-right." She said, taking folders from holders on her desk and placing them on her lap. She spun in her chair to face him. "I am Kyoko Soryo Zepplin, and I'm in charge of personnel health and maintenance. I presume you accepted your father's request?"

Shinji didn't think it was much of a request- more like an ultimatum. "Yes ma'am." Shinji replied.

"Good." The woman said without a hint of approval. She opened the manila folder. "We've already prepared a candidate acceptance form. Please read over the terms and conditions and sign at the bottom."

Shinji was handed the light green sheet, and studied it as he held it with both hands. Some of the conditions were alarming: complete secrecy, devotion to the project and program, and potential of death or fatal injury. It was almost enough to convince him to run from the facility and never look back.

But he was too far in. He didn't have the guts to say no. Poverty was too scary. Swallowing, he looked up and took the pen from Kyoko's desk while she was working on the computer. Shakily, he signed it.

"Signed it?" She asked when he was finished. He barely nodded and she snatched the paper from his grasp. "You graduated from the boarding school you were previously attending?"

"N-No ma'am." Shinji answered. He still had several levels to complete.

"Very well. I am enrolling you in the Tokyo-3 junior high school. You'll be a late entry but there's no book or fee requirements necessary on your part. Your class will be 2-A. Other details will be given to you when you attend the first day of class."

"…Okay…" Shinji answered.

Kyoko didn't seem to pick up on Shinji's dismay, and continued working at her computer. "You will be assigned a room in housing block 14C. As you have no motorized vehicle, you will be given a free bus and transit pass courtesy of NERV. You will also be provided a paycheck and income for being a NERV employee, rescinded only upon termination of your activities here at NERV or due to a breach of contract. You will also be given an identity card you must keep on your person at all times, for entry into NERV facility and proof of your identity as a NERV employee. NERV employees enjoy a 10% discount at all stores and establishments in Tokyo-03, valid at any time and for any purchase."

At least Shinji had that to look forward to, and a paycheck. He might die horribly but at least he could enjoy a privileged lifestyle before the end. When Kyoko handed him the sheets with the details, he quickly flipped through the pages for the area on income and his eyes bugged out.

He reminded himself he was a _test pilot_.

"You will be on-call twenty-four seven for testing and combat activity should the call arise. Otherwise, you are expected to call the base everyday at five pm to confirm your schedule with central planning." Kyoko finished.

"…Combat?" Shinji asked.

Kyoko's only expression was a deadpan look in Shinji's direction. "Of course," She added as if stating the obvious, "Evangelions are combat robots. We've already had several sorties in the city to repel attacks. Don't you pay attention to the news?"

Shinji confessed he didn't. He had heard something about an earthquake down in the Hakone region, but no specifics. There were rumors of UFOs and aliens, but like all conspiracy theories Shinji didn't give them any credence. "What…?"

Kyoko sighed. "Figures. In any case, I'll let Major Katsuragi brief you when the time comes for your first tests and familiarization routes. For now, you'll have to get set-up in your living quarters." She opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out several blank cards and papers. Shinji's feelings, however, were sinking at these new revelations. Not only was he expected to get inside that robot, but now apparently he was going to be fighting from inside it.

Shinji was not a fighter, he didn't know the first thing about tactics or shooting guns. His biggest concern, though, was the question of _what_ he would be fighting.

* * *

When it came to finding out _where_ his place was, Shinji was instructed to wait in the nearest floor-level lobby at NERV HQ. Someone would be along to guide him, and that someone would recognize him.

Shinji sat quietly for a long time in the empty lobby in a chair by the exit, waiting for that particular person to arrive. In that time he scanned his sheets, skimmed the intimidating introduction booklet, and even scrutinize the card. Nowhere in any of all this did it say what the NERV organization was _for._

Giant Robots. Huge underground facility. Fighting and testing. Was he just conscripted into a giant super-robot weapons plant? He never heard of Evangelions being used in fighting- it was always tanks and airplanes, with the occasional laser satellite. What was this place?

…And why were his parents connected? What did they do here?

He sighed and let his head hit the wall behind the chair. His life, like a handful of flower pedals, had been gathered and thrown up into the wind. Which would come down, and which would he see again?

The door opened and Shinji jumped. He looked to see two employees leaving, sharing a joke between them and laughing about it. They never stopped to look around, only kept walking with confidential files under their arms. Shinji relaxed in the seat and continued to wait.

Well, at least he had the address to forward back to his aunt and uncle to get the rest of this things, assuming they hadn't taken off already. Shinji grunted inwardly. Not wanted there, not worthwhile here. Which of the two was the worse condition?

The door opened again for a second time. Shinji looked up, and a woman was leaving. She stopped as she noticed Shinji. "Oh hello," She asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Y-Yes…" Shinji said, starting to rise, "I'm Shinji…"

"Oh! Hello," The woman said, extending a hand, "I'm Maya… are you an intern or something?"

"Uh…uhm…no, I'm a pilot."

"We have a new pilot!?" Maya replied, "I wasn't….oh! You're Ikari's son! There was rumors going around about that… weird, so now you're actually here! Do you need to get in?"

"N-No…" Shinji replied, "I-I was waiting for someone to take me to where I'm supposed to live…."

"Ah! I see." Maya replied, "Well, I'm one of the operators in the bridge. I'll be monitoring your progress while you're in action. Anyway, I just got off, so I'm headed home. You take care now, okay?"

"O-Okay…" Shinji replied.

"Bye Shinji!" Maya waved as she walked towards the escalators. She boarded them and rose, not looking back.

Shinji watched her go, startled a little by her demeanor. She seemed much more upbeat than any of the other employees here. What was her name? Maya… he'd have to remember that. The first friendly face to actually greet him nicely here at this new place.

But she was not his guide.

Shinji sat down again and continued to wait. He went though this bag to find some paper and maybe a pencil to draw… or write. Five minute's searching didn't turn up the one pencil he brought. Sighing, he closed his bag and let it down on the ground to wait again.

He thought about dozing off when the door opened again. Another woman came out… no… a girl came out. Looking about his age with red hair and in a school uniform. She stepped out and stopped in the lobby, looking around.

Shinji took a stand. "Um…"

The girl turned to see him. She hesitated at first, then asked, "Are you Shinji?"

"Yes…" He replied, extending his hand, "Are you supposed to take me to where I'm going to live?"

"Yes." She replied, taking it and giving it a shake, "I'm Asuka. Welcome to NERV."

"T-Thank you…"

"This way." Asuka replied, "The apartment complex isn't far from here."

"Okay." Shinji said and gathered his bag. Making sure he had everything, he followed Asuka out of the base.

* * *

After about three blocks of walking the same long street, Shinji asked, "How far is it?"

"Kinda far, but it's on this street." She said, "Makes it simple."

"Oh…"

Asuka was quiet for several more blocks before Shinji asked her, "S-Say… how did you get into NERV?"

"Both of my parents worked there."

"Really? S-Same with me…" Shinji replied, thankful to at least have something in common with someone else.

"I know. You're Shinji Ikari."

"Y-You did?"

"Your father's the director of the base, and your mother is head scientific director." Asuka replied without looking at him, "When the accidents started to happen they were talking about you."

"A-Accidents?" Shinji asked, "What happened?"

Asuka looked around, then told him, "You'll find out soon enough."

Shinji fell quiet, again being cut off at a need-to-know limit. He was quiet again for a another two blocks.

By now the bustle of the city had thinned out considerably, and the lake in the distance was rapidly approaching. The buildings here seemed… sparse… stale. It was an altogether different atmosphere from the one he had just left behind.

"Here." Asuka said and gestured with her head.

The apartment complex building Shinji saw her indicate was like most of the NERV employees he had met thus far; stale, imposing, uniform, and conformist. It was one of a series of identical apartment buildings that stretched a good ways down the street. No grass grew around the base, and a chain-link fence bordered the sidewalk and bare dirt. Somewhere, something was being hammered with rhythmic precession.

Asuka started for the building. "Do you have your apartment key-card?"

"Ye-Yeah…" he replied and pulled it out of his shirt pocket. The bland, expressionless white card was unremarkable in every way except the apartment number.

"It has your apartment number and address on it." Asuka said, "The landlord never comes- payment is dictated by NERV but your landline phone has maintenance and security programmed in."

"O-Okay…"

Asuka hesitated at the base of the stairs to look at Shinji. "I'll see you to your apartment. Where is it?"

Shinji hesitated when he caught Asuka's look. There was something about it… something hidden in the space between her eyebrows and the upper eyelid. Some kind of expression he couldn't define. He blinked out the momentary stupor and read the number off.

"Thee flights up." Asuka said and started up the stairs.

* * *

The apartment was as oppressive on the inside as it was on the outside.

Devoid of any decorations or embellishments, the floor was a plain blue tile and there was only one window. Shinji walked in, taking note of the bare mattress. There was a small kitchenette, and a further investigation of the apartment revealed a small bathroom as well.

Just… the bare…essentials…

"Mail comes in every day at 4." Asuka said, in the apartment, "When it comes to shipping they bring the packages up by the elevator and put them just outside the door."

"I see…"

The two looked at one another for a moment. Asuka broke whatever moment was forming by asking, "Do you have any questions?"

"I…" Shinji began, then, "No… thank you."

"Okay." Asuka nodded, turned, and started for the door.

Suddenly something spontaneous gripped Shinji. "Asuka!"

She turned just outside the doorway.

Shinji smiled weakly. "When my stuff comes in… could you help me decorate… or something?"

She blinked. Shinji couldn't read her expression, masked as she was by the brightness outside. "We'll see." She quipped, then disappeared.

Shinji was left alone to close the door. He wandered back to the bed and sat in it. Clasping his head, he proceeded to kick himself for being so embarrassing. He hardly knew her- what possessed him to invite her to do something like that?

Sighing, he realized he had no dinner. At least he knew where the apartment was, and had a paycheck. First, he needed to take inventory of what he needed. For the second time today, he discovered he was without a writing utensil. With a grunt he started to investigate the apartment a little more, trying to remember the things that he would need to spend his first night here.

* * *

Night came faster than expected, and the setting sun set an ethereal glow across the city.

Luckily, Shinji made it back in time before it was completely dark. Even though the street had lights, they were too few and too sparse to assure him that someone wasn't lurking in the dark, ready to mug him. He considered it an act of providence to have returned to this dreary apartment with his goods.

Shinji's efforts up the stairs were not unheard. Another door paused before it closed, the occupant to the room listening to the boy's struggles. When he was inside his own room, the owner of the open door closed it and moved inside.

Asuka walked back into the apartment and set down the coffee drinks she had purchased herself not more than a few blocks away. Books were open across her bed with at least three different papers spread out across them. It only served to drive home the point. She opened her cell phone and auto-dialed the first number.

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Studying, mother."

"You'd better hope so. You'll have to take the exams early."

"But I asked-"

"And it was foolish to do so. You know NERV cannot reschedule, not even for academics."

"But I'm already cramming-"

"You should have studied harder and not played around with the Ikari boy."

"Mother I-"

"No more excuses or I'll move you back on to the base. Understood?"

Asuka didn't say anything.

"Tomorrow I've scheduled advanced synchronization drills. I'm still not satisfied with your performance. Come to the base tomorrow at five am. I expect you clean and washed. Understood?"

"Yes mother."

"Good." And hung up.

Asuka closed her phone and looked down at her assignments with an expressionless face, then at the doll at the head of her bed, next to her pillow.

She set her phone down on the kitchenette's counter and walked back to the bed, knelt before it, and resumed her studies.

* * *

[REDACT]

R+


	2. Roots

R+

II

ROOTS

Shinji Ikari didn't have much to start with on that first day, unable to even afford an alarm clock. Fortunately his cell phone served just as well that morning with it's alarm function.

He woke up with a headache that morning and guessed it was whatever cheap cleaning powder they used on the mattress. Grunting he sat upright on the bed, rubbed his eyes of sleep, and padded across the cold tile floor to the kitchen where he was making a list of more things to get. First he put CLEANING SOLUTION, but then decided on TYLENOL.

The cold tile floor helped him wake up at least. He started off for the shower.

He had arrived in Tokyo-3 hardly prepared to establish an independent living, bringing only three sets of clothes and not nearly enough to begin furnishing an apartment with. Last night's emergency shopping spree brought him pens, paper, and some quick meals to survive until he could get the right equipment to cook with. At least his aunt and uncle were generous to leave him some emergency spending money. Carefree as they were, they weren't entirely irresponsible.

The first thing after rising and breakfast was to post that letter- even though it wouldn't go out before half the day was over.

The next challenge was to get to school.

He found the address in the stack of papers he got yesterday, and someone assembling the package was thoughtful enough to give him a bus guide. After two minutes of charting a course, he set out that morning to deposit his letter at the nearby mailbox and walk to the nearest bus stop.

He had two hours to get to class.

Five minutes waiting at the nearest bus stop, he was off on his way.

* * *

The bus was loud, noisy, and smelled a little funny. In times like these he craved his SDAT player. He had been rushed out yesterday monring and din't want to trouble his aunt and uncle to turn back for it. He would live, he surmised, and now he was forced to experience the rest of the world without a place to retreat to.

He experienced the people. The loudness, the obscenities, the vulgarities and the uncaring nature of people. There was an ugliness in humanity Shinji had seen in the big cities and Tokyo-03 was no exception. He didn't care much for hustle and bustle and at times, wanted to escape it utterly.

On the other hand, he was forced to experience the people. Hushed smalltalk about giant robots and how they single-handedly saved the city. About real-life super beings who could protect mankind from even the most terrible of disasters. He heard a batch of girls, giggling about hot robot pilots full of gusto and how they would very much like to know those pilots.

Such talk made Shinji sit back and reconsider his father's offer.

Was that what he would be doing in that thing? Protecting people like this? Protecting the world? Was he capable?

Who knew? Maybe the other pilots were hapless conscripts like himself. He was young, what was to say the others weren't as young as he was?

* * *

After two transitions he figured he was on the right course, and ended up at the school early by a quarter of an hour. Nervously he took his steps on campus and tried to find his classroom. 2-A.

Shinji swallowed and braced for that utterly odd feeling of being a total stranger to everyone when he walked into the school for the first time. There would be no familiar peers transferring with him; he would be judged and marginalized within the first day and spend the rest of the year alone. It was inevitable. During his first years at school he had experienced this feeling quite often. It hit him now like a brick wall, squeezing his nerves as he walked in.

"Shinji?"

"Gah!" He exclaimed, startled out of his thoughts, and looked down.

A pretty brown-haired girl with pigtails was looking up at him pleasantly.

"Uh…yeah, tht's me" he replied, trying to regain his composure.

"Welcome to class! I've been expecting you."

"…Expecting…?"

The girl looked dismal for a moment. "We've had a lot of people transfer out since the attacks began…" She brightened, "So it's nice to have new transfers come in. I'm the class representative, Hikari Horaki. I've got all your papers right here."

That was quick. "O-Okay…uhm… where do I sit?"

She shrugged. "Anywhere you like. There isn't a seating chart."

Be that as it may, Shinji surmised like all classrooms, people had regular spots. He hoped he wouldn't be intruding on anyone when he picked one at random. Shinji moved deeper into the classroom and took one of the random chairs available. He sighed, then pulled out paper and pen to at least get ready that much earlier.

His SDAT missing, he was again forced to listen to people. Gossip, rumor, bad-mouthing and wasteful talk. But the girls were pretty… even that class Rep. She seemed friendly enough, and the tone of the class seemed much more relaxed than his previous school. Maybe, _just maybe_, he could be allowed to make friends.

Though if the guy at the back of the class swinging the plastic model around was any indication, making friends in the class would be a challenge at best. Shinji knew he wasn't the most normal kid than other people, but still…

The air in the class shifted some and Shinji raised his head. Someone had just walked in.

Shinji could see why the class went quiet. She had blue hair.

"Ah, Rei," Hikari said, "You've been absent for almost three weeks! Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine class representative." The girl replied and walked through the rows of seats.

Shinji caught a low mutter from the back of the class, "…coulda sworn she was dead…"

The girl turned on Shinji's row and walked down the seats, stopping before him. She and Shinji held a stare. "U-uh…"

"You're in my seat."

"Oh! Sorry, I was told that we didn't have…" Shinji trailed off as he got out of Rei's chair, and she sat down in it and proceeded to look out the window. Nervously, Shinji looked around at the other classmates. Strangely, they were also agape and quiet.

"Oy," One of the kids said and pointed, "That seat's open."

"T-Thanks…" Shinji said and took the seat to Rei's right. He looked back at Rei again but the girl didn't move. He turned his head to look back into the wood grain of his desk.

"All rise!" Hikari suddenly called. Shinji did as he was commanded, seeing the teacher slowly amble in. The old man was unimpressive- appearing older than any teacher he ever had before. The greet routine hadn't changed, and Shinji bowed as commanded and then sat.

The level of Decorum for the class had more to be desired, though.

Shinji tried to pay attention, making notes in pen and scribbling out mistakes without an eraser, but his ears kept grabbing on the gossip that was floating around him.

"I coulda sworn she was one of the ones who got killed in those attacks…"

"What are you, paranoid? Maybe she was just sick or something."

"It's too coincidental. She disappears the day after that big monster showed up. Then, she doesn't reappear for two weeks, just as the city gets rebuilt."

"You think NERV has something to do with it? Like… they resurrect dead people?"

Shinji lifted his head a degree.

"Well if they do that, I wish I could make 'em resurrect my mom. Hey Kensuke, doesn't your dad work in the labs or something?"

"T-They don't do anything like that there! Dad never tells me what goes on there…"

Shinji looked at Rei. Either she was uninterested in the obvious gossip, mortified beyond all words, or she was deaf. Whatever the case, she was continually staring out the window.

The teacher on the other hand might as well be deaf. Despite the rumors going on at room-level conversation he was still droning on about his life during the second impact.

Sighing Shinji decided to stop taking notes. There was no way he would be quizzed on the childhood of his professor. The pen dropped.

As he leaned back and looked up at the second new ceiling in his life, he wondered why NERV even bothered to enroll him here in the first place.

* * *

When class ended he made it a point to talk to the class rep. He made sure Rei was gone before broaching his question.

Hikari looked disappointed at first, "Don't tell me you take what they're all saying seriously are you?"

"W-Well, what do they mean?" Shinji asked. By now the classroom had emptied.

Hikari gathered her papers. "Rei disappeared a while ago, after the city had its first attack. Even most of the people who transferred out came in to deliver their papers the day after… but Rei didn't. You know how people are- rumors start to flare up and before you know it, Rei must have died in that battle."

Shinji agreed with her assessment, but another thought struck him and he said it without thinking. "Did anyone actually die in the battle?"

Hikari's motions slowed a little. Finally, she said without looking at him, "Some did. One of my sisters was killed in that attack."

"Uwah? Hikari, I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault." She replied, "And everyone's lost someone, one way or another. Suzuhara was absent today, but his sister was injured in the attack. Eureka lost her boyfriend Akito, and Yoko lost Kamina." She choked, "Actually… I'm surprised anyone's still left…"

Shinji wanted to move to console her, but Hikari recovered before he gathered the nerve to breach her personal circle. "But… I'm glad some people stayed. They said this is the most advanced city in the whole world… and it is, when they prepare for battle. If this place can't be safe, then where else can be when more of those monsters attack?"

Shinji swallowed as he put the pieces together. NERV was somehow responsible for this, and they were the creators and maintainers of the giant robots under the city. Somehow they protected the city. He couldn't say anything of course, but he wondered what the connection was, and _why were monsters attacking the city?_. "Why are the monsters coming here?" Shinji asked.

Hikari shrugged. "I don't know. They don't say why, only that they do. There's rumors of course, but…" She shrugged.

"I see…"

"Well," Hikari said as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "That's that. Class is dismissed."

"Do you need help cleaning up the place?"

Hikari smiled. "Not today, but thank you. If you want to help, maybe I can think of something special on one of the days when we need it."

"Ah…okay…"

Hikari's smile maintained. "You seem like a nice boy, Shinji. Far better than some of the troublemakers, anyway." She looked aside at the empty chairs, recalling those faces. She turned back to Shinji. "If you need help with assignments or anything don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

Shinji nodded with a smile on his own face. "Okay."

He followed her out after she locked the classroom. She had to report to the office but told Shinji she would see him tomorrow. Shinji let it off at that even though he would have liked to speak with her more. It wasn't often that he got to talk to girls… especially ones not so self-concerned with their image.

The rise of his feelings, like his hand in waving goodbye, soon dropped and he was on the return trek home. While his security pass gave him a discount, it was a quiet and uneventful ride back to his apartment. However, he had plenty of time to kill before five. Maybe he could go shopping for things in his new apartment?

He was just beginning to peruse some of the shops near one of his bus stops when his cell-phone rang.

It was the Base. "He-Hello?"

"Shinji? This is Doctor Akagi."

"S-Something wrong?"

"No, but I wanted to call to see if you were occupied. I'd like you to come down early to the base for some preliminaries. There wasn't any time yesterday and we needed to work on things on our end."

"U-uhm…" shinji glanced at his watch, "I'm not doing anything…"

"Good. Could you come to the base? Where are you now?"

Shinji blinked and confessed he had no idea. He mentioned the name of the market, and after some description Ritsuko said, "Head down the block and you'll see a sign to head into the base. Use your pass-card. I'll send someone to get you- it's something of a maze down here."

"D-Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Could you have Asuka come and get me?"

Ritsuko paused on the other end before she replied, "Asuka's busy at the moment."

"Well then…uhm… could…" Shinji hesitated to recall her name, "Maya! Could she come to get me?"

"You've met Maya?"

"Mhmm."

"How Fortuitous, she's one of my chief staff members. I'll have her meet you there."

"Thank you Doctor."

"No problem."

Shinji hung up, took one more look at the bedsheets he had been considering, then left the supermarket and followed Ritsuko's instructions. Ten minutes later he was in a lobby not unlike the one he was forced to wait in for hours.

* * *

The wait this time, though, wasn't long. Maya appeared in short order. "Hello Shinji!" She beamed, "Didn't think I'd see you again so soon."

"Yeah…uhm…"

"I've already talked to Doctor Akagi, we're going to be going right down to the cages."

An uneasy tingle hit Shinji's spine. Yes, the _Cages_, for the mechanical _monsters_ kept in the basement of NERV. Though they were supposed to be the protectors of this city… Shinji didn't know how this was done, or what was involved piloting such a hideous machine.

Maya spotted Shinji going pale and asked in a concerned tone, "Are you all right Shinji?"

"W-Why do you call them cages?" Shinji asked.

Maya's expression lost a little of the enthusiasm. "Some nickname I suppose… some of the machines have… well… gone rampant before."

"Rampant?!"

"Oh no, Shinji, don't worry," Maya held up some hands for reassurance, "This was long ago, long ago, during the initial prototypes. We have most of the bugs worked out by now."

"Most of them?"

Maya sighed in defeat. "Shinji, I don't know. Doctor Akagi and the rest of the staff have been working around the clock to keep these things intact, let alone together. So far there haven't been any problems ever since unit two was completed."

Shinji wasn't sure if that should comfort him or not, but Maya didn't seem to think he was in immediate danger. She seemed to nice of a person to be leading him to his potential death without a good measure of assurance that he'd come through this alive.

He traveled with her through the myriad corridors of the base and the twists and turns. "Uhm," he asked her at one point in the adventure, "Is this deliberately designed to get people lost?"

"Actually yes." Maya replied with a smile, "Don't worry I had to get adjusted to it too. As a pilot, the places you'll be concerned with are the cages and the briefing center. Once you memorize the places where you need to go, then it becomes easier."

Shinji nodded, and then muttered, "Doctor Akagi seemed to know her way around pretty well…"

"That shouldn't be a surprise," Maya replied, "She's been working here over half her life."

Contemplating this, Shinji wondered how much of her life was spent working with his parents… Others knowing his parents more than their own son did. A dark wave lapped over his heart, tinting it with depressing thoughts.

Maya nudged him out of it and smiled down at him. "You'll do fine Shinji. There are a ton of people here who count on people like you, and won't allow you to come to harm."

Shinji looked ahead again and a new thought came in response to her statement, "What was that battle that happened? They kept talking about it at school."

Maya's step slowed, but picked up again when she said, "There have already been attacks from angels in the city, Shinji. Unit 01 and Unit 02 have already partaken in battles against them."

"Did people die?"

Maya seemed to swallow something as she answered, "Yes, Shinji. Some did. The battle happened in the city and we had little warning or perpetration. Nobody knew what to do. Unit one was damaged, and unit two sortied in the second battle."

They reached a doorway. "At least nobody died in the second battle. Injuries yes, but no fatalities."

Shinji felt oddly relieved. NERV was new to this too.

* * *

Eventually they reached the cages. It couldn't be anything else, given that the walkway he found himself on was next to a sheer drop, separated only with a handrail. A glance down showed the floor of this drop many hundreds of meters beneath him. This suggested Evangelion was more than a floating, horrible, disembodied head. Much more.

Ritsuko was there to meet them along well as Doctor Soryo. The latter looked annoyed while working with her PDA, while Ritsuko's face seemed a little more receptive. "Shinji," Ritsuko greeted, "Thank you for coming in early."

"N-No problem…" Shinji replied. It wasn't like he had anything else to do.

Ritsuko turned to Maya. "That'll be all Maya. Make sure the equipment is all ready for unit 01."

"Will do." Maya nodded, and turned to Shinji to give him a smile before she completed her turn and left the catwalk. Shinji looked back to Ritsuko, who was holding up something. Shinji took it from her. "What is this?"

"It's a contact plug suit." Kyoko suddenly explained, lowering her PDA, "All pilots need to wear one. The changing rooms are right through there." She pointed.

Shinji looked at the door, and then down at the garment. "I have to change into this?"

"Completely." Ritsuko said, "Not even any underwear."

"What?!" Shinji panicked. The suit didn't….didn't seem very thick…

Kyoko made an exasperated sigh, but Ritsuko ignored it. "Just change into it Shinji, you'll be fine."

Shinji swallowed, looked into the doorway and then started inside.

* * *

The locker rooms were unimpressive compared to the rest of the high-tech facility. Ordinary metal lockers lined the walls of the room, with a wooden bench in the center over an ordinary tile floor. The other exit lead into a public shower and restroom. Shinji hesitated inside, then after glancing at the exit back on to the catwalk to confirm nobody was coming, he started to change.

He opened the first locker only to find it already containing a plugsuit. The next locker over contained an assortment of women's clothes. Shinji, out of modesty, moved to shut the door quickly but not before leaving a lingering look on the school uniform within. He closed the door, then opened the third to find it empty. Guessing this was his, he started to undress and stash his clothes inside.

The 'thing' he had been given was a form-fitting one piece suit. Shinji wanted to protest this revelation with Ritsuko, but he was already naked. Gritting his teeth he slipped into the oversized thing and pulled it up to his neck. The seals clipped into place, and he contemplated the baggy thing around him. Well… at least it kept his parts hidden. He started out of the lockers, clutching the excess bulk. "U-uhm… Doctor Akagi?"

The two lab coats turned. Kyoko gave another impatient grunt and looked back at her PDA. Ritsuko only smiled. "You're not done yet Shinji."

"H-Huh?"

Ritsuko stepped forward to take hold of Shinji's wrist, then depressed a control on the blocky wrist cuff of the suit.

With a hiss, the suit suddenly compacted. "Wah!" Shinji panicked as the fabrics closed around him- _all_ of him.

Suddenly feeling very exposed, he took a step backward towards the locker rooms, covering his man-parts.

Kyoko grunted, "Do we have time for these displays Akagi?"

"Relax Shinji," Ritsuko said, ignoring Kyoko, "The suit is designed to protect you, as well as make it easy for you to synchronize with the Evangelion."

"S-Synchronize?" Shinji repeated, "What does that mean?"

Casting a glance over her shoulder at the impatient Kyoko, Ritsuko turned back to Shinji. "I'll tell you along the way. We best not test the patience of our staff."

* * *

Shinji saw the head from a different angle now.

They were standing on scaffolding over the machine's shoulder, poised at the back of the head. That amber liquid was still present, but after seeing the chasm right by the changing lockers, now he wondered how deep the pool was… and what it was hiding of the rest of the Evangelion from sight.

The neck had been opened up at the back and a long, thin white cylinder was poised above a hole. A segment had been opened, revealing a chair.

"Now," Ritsuko said as Shinji took a seat, "This is just a preliminary test to see how well you interface with the Evangelion. Normally synchronization tests are done with our simulation bodies, but we don't have any data to make comparisons. You won't be moving your machine, just sitting in it and powering it up. Understood?"

Shinji nodded.

"Now," Ritsuko said as she tapped some of the buttons on a panel within the bulk of Shinji's piloting chair, "For suspension purposes, and to ease in the synchronization between man and machine, this capsule is going to fill with a liquid."

"L-Liquid? You mean, water?"

"Not quite. A solution. However, if it makes it easier just think of it as liquid air. The official name is LCL."

"LCL? What does that stand for?"

Ritsuko just smirked. She finished her manipulation of the controls and stood up.

"B-But," Shinji grabbed the edge of the hatch frame, "I don't know how to swim!"

Ritsuko smiled. "Then I'll keep the lights off. You won't even feel it." She gestured. The hatch overhead began to close.

Shinji started to panic as the door closed overhead. With a small squeal, he was suddenly immersed in darkness… the only sounds he could hear was his own breathing. He reached up to see if the electrodes- whatever they were- were still in place over his head. All this just to pilot the machine? What did it mean to actually drive it?

Well… he didn't have to… not now, he assured himself. Shinji groped in the darkness and found the butterfly handles, and waited. Suddenly, the plug moved and he had a sensation of being pushed downward. He gave a cry, unable to keep the air in his lungs as he was suddenly rammed forward. The sounds of heavy hammering and machinery working echoed through the walls, around him.

He heard the rushing of water and started panting.

"Shinji?" A voice broke from the walls. Doctor Akagi.

"Y-Yes?!"

"Just relax. Just ordinary procedure. It's only melodramatic for you because it's your first time."

Shinji swallowed. "R-Roger…" He burped. Blinking, he wondered what just happened. Were those…air bubbles? He swayed his hand but it didn't feel any different. If anything, he felt a little weird in his head, behind his nose and just above his throat. It persisted, and he coughed to clear the tickle, and again saw bubbles. "W-What…?"

"Your plug is filled with LCL."

"What!? You mean-"

There was an echo of laughter. "Shinji, Relax. You didn't even feel it. Ready?"

Shinji gripped the handles. If it was that easy, "R-Ready…"

"Ok."

The plug suddenly blazed with light.

* * *

The scream Shinji let out made some of the staffers giggle. Maya composed herself when Kyoko turned her impatient stare in Maya's direction, but Ritsuko couldn't help but smirk herself. "Well, I have to say that's the first time any of the children reacted… in that particular way."

"The second child didn't even flinch during the tests." Kyoko replied.

Ritsuko turned her face. "I'm sure you're proud of her."

Kyoko ignored Ritsuko's comment. "Let's get down to basics. Has the third stopped hyperventilating yet?"

Ritsuko reached forward and clicked the microphone on. "Shinji, don't worry- that's just the system trying to sort itself out. It'll be a few minutes."

"Oh-Oakhay!" Shinji replied in a panicked tone, amplified by the pickup. Ritsuko leaned away from the board and peeked at a camera feed. Shinji's look would have made Misato giggle too. That was neither here nor there, though.

"Status now?" Kyoko demanded after a minute.

Maya's eyes reflected the flickering of the panel. "The system's still sorting itself out. This IS his first time in the plug… and it's been weeks since Eva-01 powered up."

"Well," Kyoko brushed a hand through her hair, "Leave it up to Ikari to contort affairs like this. We could have had unit 01 in continuous standby if it weren't for the concern for that useless child."

"To which Ikari are you referring?" Ritsuko asked, "There are three currently on the base."

"Does it matter?"

* * *

The whirlwind of lights and visions eventually faded, and Shinji's perception other than the chair was replaced by a projected cockpit. Black lines interrupted clear windows to the outside world. It was so engrossing he really felt, for a moment, that he was a giant.

He could even feel his arms clapped in the giant restraints- the steady pressure of his arms being held down and his ankles bound. He moved a hand away from one of the butterfly handles and flexed it. Yet the sensation remained.

A window flickered into existence. The flat plane was showing video feed from Ritsuko. It was angled to project right into Shinji's face. "Okay Shinji, just take it easy. The system is still starting up."

The panels continued to brighten until it seemed as if Shinji was looking outside of a window. Spontaneously, lines of text appeared in mid-air over his chest. He leaned away from them in surprise, and tried to read the English characters. They vanished before he could make them out though.

"What was that?" Maya's voice asked over the feed.

Another voice, Kyoko's, added, "That anomaly is inconsequential. Just a startup quip from the system."

"But it read something in English…"

"It happens in Unit 02, too. Just ignore it for now Maya. Shinji, are you still there?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Good. Now, I want you to relax in the cockpit."

"Relax?"

"Yes. Just don't think about anything in particular and let yourself drift."

Shinji swallowed. Relaxing was the last thing on his mind at the moment- being where he was at the heart of an alien machine in strange surroundings. He released the handles and let his head rest against the seat. "I'll try…" He closed his eyes.

"Think of somewhere calm," Ritsuko replied, "Like your home, or your friends."

"I don't have any."

There was a pause at the other end.

"Then think of something that comforts you."

Shinji tried.

_Maya, smiling at him. Hikari, a bright and beaming smile on her face._

_Asuka, and the look he saw_.

* * *

Maya didn't say anything, but she knew Kyoko was reacting because she felt the other woman's grip tighten on the seat rest. "Maya?" Ritsuko asked.

"Hih-his Synchronization rate," Maya said and looked up, "Forty-five percent."

Ritsuko blinked, then looked through the glass at Evangelion 01. "On his first go? Impressive."

* * *

The hum of the plug around him only made Shinji's thoughts go deeper.

_Hikari, smiling at him and taking his hand. Her voice. "Would you like to have lunch together?"_

_Asuka, helping him decorate his apartment. A thoughtful smile is on her face._

_Maya, with him at some cafeteria someplace, laughing with him about the day's events._

_Ritsuko, smiling at him for a job well done._

_Mother…._

Shinji's eyes opened.

* * *

"Wah? Synch rate is dropping!" Maya announced with some alarm.

"Calm down." Kyoko said, "How-"

Even Kyoko stopped at the sudden drop. Thirty percent…twenty….

"Shinji?"

* * *

_Those eyes. Both of them. Silent, monolithic figures. They weren't saying anything._

"WHY?!" _Shinji cried out to both of them_, "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!?"

_Nothing._

_Shinji…_

"_Shinji?"_

Shinji!?

"SHINJI!?"

Shinji blinked, panting and leaning forward, breathing raggedly. Slowly, he turned to Ritsuko's face. It was impassive.

"I think we're done, Shinji."

* * *

Shinji wasn't sure if he had done something wrong or not. The process of being extracted from the machine was subdued. This time, he was aware of the LCL's retreat in the darkness when he felt fluid around his mouth. He coughed up the rest.

Light broke into the plug and he looked up into Ritsuko's face. She stared down at him for a moment. "Come on," She finally said, "You need to get dressed. We're done with you today."

Shinji took her hand and climbed out of the plug. After several wet footsteps away from it he looked back and wondered what exactly happened there.

Sometime en-route back to the changing room, Shinji swallowed and asked, "Did I do something wrong, Doctor Akagi?"

Ritsuko turned her head to give him a glance, then looked forward again as she said, "No Shinji, you performed wonderfully."

"I did?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Your synchronization scores were… better… than what we expected."

Shinji blinked to consider this. "But then…what was…"

"Shinji," Ritsuko said and came to a stop in the hallway. Shinji halted and turned to her as she continued, "The Evangelions are highly sensitive to emotions and feelings. Over time, you might have a better rapport with the Eva and the controls might not be as sensitive. But take care not to loose yourself, and keep in control of your feelings, especially now at the beginning. Do you understand?"

Shinji looked away and at the chasm. "I… I don't know." He shook his head a little, balling his hands, "I don't know!" He squeezed his eyes shut, tensing in anger.

Ritsuko watched him, then closed her eyes to make a compromise with herself. "You're a fourteen year old boy." She said as she opened her eyes again. "I need to remind myself of that fact. You did well today, Shinji. If you keep practicing you'll only get better with time."

Shinji relaxed, staring down at the chasm.

"Come on," Ritsuko sighed as she started walking again, "I don't think you'll want to be standing too long covered in LCL."

Shinji, realizing how cold and wet he was, widened his eyes and hurried after Ritsuko.

* * *

Shinji ducked into the changing rooms with every intention to rinse off and change. He just about barreled into the bathroom at the back when to his shock he found someone else was already using the shower. A squawk echoed out of his gullet and he retreated back into the lockers- mind racing at what he had seen. "I-I'm sorry!" He cried. Hearing nothing, he opened his eyes. Then he noticed one of the lockers was open.

The first one.

Hearing the patting of feet, Shinji looked up in a panic to see the naked back of a woman. His blood rate started to rise, as did other things, as he watched her change from behind into the plugsuit. When she was done, she turned and locked eyes with him.

He stared back, horror in his eyes and face as he recognized the woman as Rei.

A small eternity passed, but then she turned her head away and moved out of the room without saying anything or a change in expression. When she disappeared around the bend Shinji remained tense for a moment longer, mind reeling at what he had seen.

Finally he collapsed with a loud, expressive sigh that knocked around his throat, coming out as a mix of a groan and a scream. What…the hell… was….

"Shinji?" Ritsuko's voice echoed into the room, "Hurry up in there!"

Shinji snapped back to reality and fumbled through the shower, and getting dressed, his mind in disarray. He more or less stumbled out of the locker rooms when he was finished, shock still plain on his face at what he had seen. He looked at Ritsuko, but he didn't start at her face.

Dr. Akagi looked down on him, sighed, then said, "I'm sorry. I had forgotten the rooms were co-ed and that Rei was scheduled early for her own tests." She opened her eyes again. "Let's get you home Shinji. I'll drive you there."

Shinji was still trying to recover his thoughts, and only nodded at Ritsuko's suggestion.

After a very quiet trip, Shinji did nothing but collapse in his bed to try puzzling out what had occurred this evening. Before long, he was asleep. There, his dreams began to weave the answers.

* * *

To say NERV had special areas was a drastic understatement. NERV was a beehive of special areas, each special in one degree over the other. One particular area was the Commander's office. The wide, circular space held only one article of furniture. Seated there now was the supreme commander of NERV's activities. Next to him was subcommander Fuyutuski, and on the other side of the chair was Scientific department head Yui Ikari.

On the other side of the desk was Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. She had placed a print-out on the commander's desk.

Gendo had just finished reading it, and placed it down on the desk. "You have reason for concern, doctor?"

Kyoko kept her temper in check. "The last time we approached a negative synchronization rate was when Evangelion 00 went berserk. You mean to tell me this," She nodded at the print out, "Isn't a cause for concern?"

Yui said from the commander's side, "Evangelion 01 remained stable all through the test."

"And for that we should be grateful." Kyoko replied, "Imagine what would have happened if Unit 01 went Berserk as well. We're lucky that we have unit 02, but imagine if two of the three were out of commission during the next battle."

"We've managed in the past with one unit." Fuyutuki said, "And the commander has every confidence in Major Katsuragi's tactical ability to command."

"You can't command an Eva after it's had a temper-tantrum." Kyoko said, then shrugged her shoulders, "Unless you think there is some way to recover an Evangelion after its thrown its saddle?"

"We hope to find out." Yui said.

Kyoko hesitated. "You're not serious… you mean… you _intend_ to continue with scenario 7A? Have you any idea what could happen if we _don't_ catch it this time before Synchro-inversion? You're not afraid of another impa-"

Gendo held up a hand. At her silence, he lowered it. "I think that is enough alarm and speculation for now, Doctor."

"Speculation? It's virtually proven FACT given what we have analyzed-"

"Yet," Fuyutsuki interrupted, "It has yet to be actually proven, doesn't it? The Commander and Scientific advisor feel that recovery of Unit 00 is possible, despite your hypothesis, doctor."

"We will go through with that plan." Gendo said behind his hands, folded now before his face. "As to the matter of Unit 01 and its pilot, Doctor Akagi has assumed the responsibility of ensuring both become operational by the end of the week. Your duties are to the maintenance of the other pilots until such time that the third children has been certified as combat-active. Evangelion 01 and the pilot are not your concern until then."

Kyoko parted her lips to protest, but decided against the better of it. "Understood, Commander." She winced, "But if we experience another near-catastrophe with the Evangelion units going awry, I will consider filing protest against you for ignoring my warning for the consequences."

"Duly noted. Dismissed, Doctor."

Kyoko said nothing more, turning sharply on her heel and walking out of the office. After the door closed, she shut her eyes to suppress a moment of anger. She moved forward after taking a second to find a new directive.

* * *

She presented herself ready the second time for today.

"Good. Now, we will begin synchronization trials in unit 02 to improve your performance."

"But I was just in the plug this-"

A slap was remarkably unheard in that area of the base, despite the huge volume of area that was within earshot. It was only the two of them in the cages.

"Your synchronization performance is lacking, second children. And don't think I haven't been monitoring your grades, either. Consider this punishment for failing this morning's exam."

Asuka halted, eyes wide. "But I asked the instructor to grade it after I took the test, how could-"

Another slap. Asuka fell quiet and stood straight again, eyes downcast.

"Now." Kyoko said, facing her daughter, "We will go to the cages, and you will synchronize with your Evangelion. We will continue the procedure until you can match _at least_ 40%. That is the only way you are going home tonight. Understood?"

Asuka blinked, no life in her eyes as she listened to the instructions. Finally, she answered, "Yes, mother."

Kyoko stared at the red-plug-suited girl before turning on her heel and walking down the hallway, gesturing with her hand over her shoulder as if she was pulling a chain.

Asuka Soryu Langly, Second Child and pilot of Evangelion 02, obediently followed.

* * *

[REDACTED]

R+


	3. Rupture

R+

III

Rupture

Shinji woke up to the sound of his cell phone vibrating on the mattress. He grabbed it, looked at the time, and then dropped the phone again as he stared up at the ceiling.

At least his bed had proper sheets.

He got up and started his day.

To wash the… images out of his head of Rei being so… exposed… he went on a shopping spree yesterday. His apartment was somewhat furnished now: better towels, better bed covers and sheets, and some more clothes to put into his dresser. He even grabbed some cheap pots, pans, and cooking utensils to help him get away from the instant stuff as fast as possible.

His letter had been gone when he arrived, presumably it was on its way back to his aunt and uncle's place. Maybe within a week to a month his things would be shipped from there and arrive here. He hoped by then that Asuka would be willing to help… or maybe one of the other people he was getting to know.

Through his morning and into the start of his commute to school Shinji puzzled over how he would react to Ayanami. He had seen the girl stark naked… yet… that moment in the locker was weird. He always assumed girls hit boys if they saw them naked. He certainly wouldn't have reacted the way she did if their situations were reversed…

Shinji leaned on his knees as the bus rolled through the city. And he thought _he_ was strange…

Having done this once before, Shinji was able to get to his class a little earlier than usual, greeting Hikari as the third person in the classroom. "Hi Shinji!" Hikari beamed.

"H-Hi…" Shinji replied, still unable to quash the nervous stammer despite the girl being nice to him. He took some tentative steps away from the course to his seat to divert to her. "Uh, Hikari…"

"Yes?"

"There wasn't any homework from yesterday, was there?"

Hikari sighed. "No, there wasn't."

Shinji blinked, and then decided to ask his question in a lower tone, "Is there ever any Homework?"

Hikari frowned. "There used to be…" She looked at the desk, "Ever since the attack we've had a new instructor and he's been lax on assignments." She shrugged and made a hopeful smile, "But keep your ears open! I don't know what he'll do."

"…Okay…" Shinji replied, "thanks…" He moved to his seat. Stopping beside it he looked at Rei's chair, and decided to avoid her for the day and moved some seats back. "U-uhm…" He asked to a nearby student, "Is this chair taken?"

It was the kid who was flying around the model yesterday. "That's Suzuhara's. That one's free." He pointed to another desk.

"T-Thanks…" Shinji replied and took the seat. Today he prepared himself a little by bringing something to read- cooking for dummies. Yes, his aunt had drilled cooking lessons into him to 'make him useful' around the house, but over the years and through comparative exploration he found that her lessons were… rushed. Shinji felt sooner or later he had to start back at the basics, and that's what this book was for. At least he'd be able to cook something basic _properly_ this time.

Still without his SDAT player, Shinji was sensitive to the goings-on in the class. Something else caused the students to hesitate and Shinji looked up from his book.

A kid in athletic wear had just come in. Black jogging pants, a black jacket, and a black look. Angrily the boy stormed through the seats to the one Shinji almost took. He settled himself down in it noisily, then propped his feet up on the desk in front of him, crossed his arms behind his back, and stared at the ceiling.

Shinji, and part of the class, was looking at him until the boy's gaze looked back. Shinji, and the rest, looked back at their work.

Unlike everyone else though, Shinji caught some of the conversation between the two of them. "Hey, you all right?" The otaku asked.

"Fine." The boy- presumably 'Suzuhara'- grunted.

"You were gone for a while. Your sister okay?"

"For now."

"Oh…"

Shinji looked back down at his book, but couldn't absorb the words from the paper. The conversation about the angry kid behind him was too engrossing.

"Ayanami's back."

"Is she? Wasn't she dead or something."

"Nah nah… In fact, she disappeared right after that big robot went into action. Hey, you think she could be the pilot?"

"The what?"

"The pilot! The pilot, those things don't move on their own you know! My dad says as much anyway."

The jock didn't say anything at first, then, "Ayanami's the pilot?"

"Well it's anyone's guess really, but who else could it be? I mean, there's that new transfer kid, but it would be a long shot if he was the pilot. He just got here."

Shinji hoped the goosebumps at the back of his neck weren't standing out too clearly to Suzuhara.

The silence behind him was unnerving. "Y'think he heard me?" Shinji heard one of them whisper.

Shinji caught sight of a blue motion in his vision and his hair bristled. Ayanami had just entered. Shinji couldn't help but stare as she walked through the rows of desks and seats, not even looking at him, and taking a seat in the chair. She stared out the window again.

Shinji just blinked, eyes focused on her back. After a moment of no movement, his eyes went back down to the cookbook. "She hates me…"

"Stand!"

Shinji only half-guessed that today's lecture would be useless again today, and he was a little disappointed when he discovered he was correct. As he packed his things at the end of the day Shinji wondered again about the purpose of bringing him here. Wasn't NERV aware how ineffective the teacher was?

Shinji stood after packing his bag and hesitated when he saw Ayanami walk out, again without turning to look at him or anything. Shinji finished getting up, securing his backpack, only to hear a grunt. He turned around and just saw Suzuhara push past him, headed out the door. Shinji watched the jock walk by with some astonishment, having never encountered anyone so… so forceful before.

"Don't let it bother you," The otaku said to Shinji as he got up, "Touji's sister got hurt in one of the angel battles, so he's pissed off."

"Y-Yeah…" Shinji replied and looked out the door again.

Hikari was approaching. "Mister Aida… is Touji all right?"

Kensuke shrugged. "How should I know? He doesn't even open up to me about things like this."

"But he talks to you." Hikari replied.

"So?"

Hikari sighed. "Kensuke, please find him and ask him if he's all right. I don't want him doing something stupid.."

Kensuke looked up at Hikari's concerned face, sighed and got out of his chair, scratching his head. Tucking his hands in his pockets he walked out of the classroom. Shinji watched him leave.

"Well," Hikari tried to laugh, "That's…that's something."

"Why are you worried about him?" Shinji asked.

Hikari paused again, then apologized. "Sorry… I suppose some of these revelations are a little shocking to admit to an outsider. Suzuhara has….issues… and as class representative I need to know if he's okay."

"Issues?"

"Oh he's not crazy or anything like that!" Hikari admitted hurriedly, and then continued, "…But he can be… direct with his feelings."

"Oh…"

Hikari made a muted chuckle and then said, "Well, I shouldn't bore you with details about your classmates. Um… could you help me take some files to the office?"

"Oh! S-Sure…" Shinji said, delighted to have some time with the pretty class representative.

After locking the classroom Shinji went with her to drop the attendance papers off at the office. "Well," She said, "That's it. Now I… go home."

"C-Can I walk you to the door? I-I'm going the same way."

Hikari smiled. "That's sweet of you Shinji. Okay!"

Shinji made a nervous smile, kicking himself for making such a silly, embarrassing request. But he got to spend at least a few more minutes with Hikari.

He opened his mouth to say something when both of them heard a shout from somewhere else in the campus. Stopping, the two of them listened a little more and heard someone speaking in a distinctive tone. They couldn't make out the words, but it was…

Hikari, eyes focused, started on a hurried walk. Shinji quickened his pace to catch up with her, and by the second cry she broke into a run. Shinji hurried after her.

They rounded a corner and Hikari gave a gasp, followed by, "Suzuhara!"

Touji turned around, hand over his fist. He looked stunned. "C-Class rep…"

Rei was on the ground, wrist dabbing away the blood on her cheek.

Shinji hurried forward past Touji and to her. He took her arm and hand asking, "A-Are you all right?"

She looked up at him.

Shinji sucked in a breath as he saw her distinct, blood-red irises focused directly on him. Instead of the passive stare her expression bore a little shock. Another small eternity seemed to pass before she wet her lips, and said in a quiet tone, "Fine…"

"Your lip is bleeding," Shinji said.

Hikari's blast interrupted them. "I should have known you would do something like this. Why Rei?"

Touji looked away, a layer of shame on his angry face. "I couldn't feel better without doing something about it…"

Hikari took a step forward. "Answer my question."

Touji did not return her glance. "They said she was the pilot… the pilot of that thing that stepped on my sister!"

Touji's eyes were closed, his fists balled, as if struggling inside to keep the anger from blowing out his ears.

Hikari stared at Touji with severe anger, but then closed her eyes and let it out in a sigh. "I'm going to have to put you on report for this." She opened her eyes again, still with a shade of anger in them, "Striking other students… _repeatedly_… is against the law. You know this Touji."

Touji didn't say anything.

"I won't say anything more about it. Just go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She walked past him and bore down on Rei. Touji turned partially to watch as Shinji and Hikari helped Rei up, and then started to move away. Only when Hikari shot Touji a scathing glance did he turn and trot away.

As they took a seat on a nearby bench, Shinji turned his head to see Kensuke finally appear, say something to Touji, then look in Shinji's direction. The boy did a double-take before turning to follow Kensuke, apparently trying to console the boy.

"I KNEW something like this would have happened," Hikari said, a handkerchief out and dabbing at Rei's bleeding lip, "I should have chased him out of the classroom and found him myself. Oh… Rei, you're bruised. Do you need to see the nurse?"

"I'm fine." Rei replied.

"Are you sure? What would your parents think- I don't want you getting trouble at home because-"

"It won't be a problem." Rei said without moving. "There won't be any concern."

Blinking, Shinji wondered why this would be the case. Surely… surely she had parents, didn't she?

"All right." Hikari sighed, easing away. She looked away for a moment, then said, "Please forgive Suzuhara… he has problems controlling his feelings. His sister was-"

"I'm aware of the facts." Rei replied and stood up. "I will leave now." She said simply and started walking away. Hikari and Shinji also stood, watching her slowly walk off the campus.

Shinji blinked again. "I-Is…Isn't she afraid that Touji will come after her again?"

Hikari made a deep frown. "If Suzuhara has two brain cells to put together, he won't risk a suspension." She sighed again, then brightened as she turned to Shinji. "Quite the day huh?"

"Y-Yeah…" Shinji said, a hand to the back of his head. He made a modest smirk.

Hikari made a small bow and then said, "I promise not every day will be like this. Thank you for coming to help me again today."

"Oh! No problem…"

Hikari blinked, still smiling, then spontaneously gave Shinji a hug.

"Uwa?" Shinji gasped.

"Have a safe trip home okay?" She said into his ear.

Shinji, shakily, returned the hug. She parted from him quickly and waved goodbye as she headed in her own direction.

That hug stayed with Shinji all the way home on the bus trip, and he nearly lost his detour for the day to continue shopping. This wasn't like his aunt giving him a half-hearted hug for the sake of it… this seemed like a higher level of 'thank you'. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it… did this mean Hikari liked him?

His attention was diverted only when he saw a splash of red. His eyes turned with it and he recognized the face. "Asuka?"

She turned her face to look at him, circles under her eyes, but the eyes themselves were widening a little. "Shinji?"

Shinji blinked.

* * *

On the way back to the apartments Asuka sipped at the canned coffee.

Shinji looked at this, then looked at the two other cases that Asuka was holding in the bag. "Asuka… do you really need that much?"

"Uh-huh." She answered, draining the last of the cans. She crushed it and tossed it into a garbage can as they walked.

Wincing, Shinji asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's none of your concern." She said, whirling his head to look at him. Shinji saw the circles first, then her eyes.

He saw the expression again, centered between her eyebrows and her eyelids. It wasn't the only place where he saw it, but it was there that he could recognize it. He still had yet to identify what it was…

She turned back to stare ahead.

Shinji looked down at Asuka's bags again- he had been with her shopping. She had quick Raman and canned coffee in there. Squeezing his hands, he tried to speak. "A-Asuka…"

"Yes?"

Shinji's hand squeezed tighter as he tried to force his request out. "Could you come to my apartment?"

She stopped on the pavement and turned so suddenly Shinji almost bumped into her. "Why?" She asked.

Shinji bowed his head to avert his gaze. "I-I just th-thought it would be-be bet…" he swallowed, "Better if I cooked for you tonight. It has to be better than the instant…" He looked up.

For a split second he saw a softness in Asuka's expression, and eyes painted with shock. It seemed to subside some though, the longer he stared. She shook her head a little, then more while saying, "I have studying to do." She turned and started walking forward again.

"Studying?" Shinji asked and started walking, "You're in school too?"

"University, advanced studies online."

"U-U-University!?" Stammered a shocked Shinji, "But you don't look much older than I do!"

"I graduated from Germany's University system with top marks." Replied Asuka, "Child progeny. Now that I'm here in Japan I have to graduate from the Japanese higher education system."

Shinji was still trying to get over the fact that she was a university student. It just… didn't make sense.

He followed her up the stairs to the second floor. She hesitated just before she was about to put her key in and turned to Shinji. "Thank you for walking me here Mister Ikari, but this is where we part."

"But-"

"No." Asuka said and opened the doorway. She moved in without saying anything else, closing the door without looking at him.

But the door closed gently.

Shinji, hand still raised in protest, finally lowered it and stared at the metal door that lead into Asuka's apartment. He looked up, then out at the bleak portion of the city. Then he looked down at his own parcel and decided to go home.

The hammering had stopped today, and after Shinji closed the door the apartment seemed very quiet and still. He walked into his apartment propper, dropping the bags of things and food. He also tossed his backpack on the bed, then sat in it and sighed. He dug the cell phone out of his pocket, checked the time, then dropped it on the bed before falling back himself on it. He sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, trying to sort out the day's events.

Rei. He hadn't even been nervous around her. Oddly he couldn't remember the details of her naked body so much as he could her distinct eyes. They were weird. No… not quite weird… something different, a little more tragic and not as repelling. He could have sworn he saw them somewhere before, also.

Suzuhara. A bully. For now Shinji would have to stay clear of him, least he find out Shinji was a pilot too. He felt bad for Hikari having to deal with this thug. Well, Shinji thought as he closed his eyes, Suzuhara hadn't come for _him_.

Hikari's hug.

He wondered about that, feeling warmth in his body from her acceptance. Nobody had been that open with him before, embracing him out of warmth and friendship. The only times he ever got a hug were from his aunt, when she was either mocking him, giving him light praise, or drunk. This hug felt different.

Asuka.

The dark circles under her eyes were troubling, and he couldn't evade the rising feeling of concern for her. He sat up.

Even HE didn't resort to Raman on the first day he was here getting food to eat. He had enough of the stuff at his uncle's place to develop a bad taste for it- noticing only the artificial flavors whenever he was forced to eat it. Scowling, he combined the taste of coffee together with the Raman and started to feel sick.

His eyes looked up right into the kitchenette.

Standing, he walked into the place and started to investigate the shelves. Out of all the things he had, the only decent item of cookware in his inventory to actually make anything was the Pot. He had intended to use it for a casserole or something one night when he could figure out what he wanted to make. Both hands on the pot, he made a grim face and nodded. He recovered the cookbook from his backpack, clicked on the lights for the kitchen, and started to work.

* * *

At her desk Ritsuko Akagi was studying her typical reports. She was due for a meeting in a quarter of an hour and she watned to be mindful of critical tasks she was responsible for.

Evangelion 02 had finally finished repairs. The laser tentacle damage had been fixed and the left hand had been reattached successfully with barely 2% errors reported in the nerve connections. Unit 00 was still a questionable issue according to her underlings, but at least it was stable enough and free of the bakelite. She sighed as she recalled frustrations over the procedures needed to reactivate the unit for normal operations. In part she agreed with Kyoko: reactivating unit 00 was a risk since a rampant Eva was not something the base was designed to handle (or withstand). On the other… Kyoko's expertise was not in Evangelion handling or technology. In Ritusko's mind, it was far more likely that Dr. Zeppelin was trying to down play the native produced units for her own Evangelion 02… which was overseen and test-driven by Doctor Zeppelin herself.

Of which there were some interesting stories regarding-

Her phone rang.

Ritsuko looked at the number. It seemed familiar until caller ID projected IKARI, S. She picked up the phone while glancing at the clock. Ten minutes to five. "Yes Shinji?"

"Doctor Akagi, I wanted to call ahead to see what the schedule was for tonight."

"Tonight?" Ritsuko asked, and turned to her computer, "One moment."

She accessed the cage itinerary for the test and work schedules. Something caught her eye, and she lingered on it for a second before paging back to Unit 01's specific schedule. "We were going to be doing further calibrations on our end tonight, Shinji. We won't need you for today unless you _wanted_ to come in."

"U-uhm…" Shinji paused, then said, "Do you want me in early?"

"Unless there's a sudden attack we don't need you right away. Could you come in at six?"

"Uhm… would seven be better?"

Ritsuko smirked. "Seven is fine. You have plans?"

"Something like that. Thank you Doctor!"

"Thank you for calling, Shinji." Ritsuko replied and hung up. She turned back to her desk but paused for a moment at the black and white cats sitting on her desk. It was only for a moment, but then she turned back to her computer. A touch of grimness was on her eyebrows when she paged back to the testing schedule report for Unit 02.

* * *

There was a cumbersome knock on the door. Asuka jumped at the sudden interruption to the silence. She half-turned to the door to listen for a moment, then went back to her work. The knock happened again, a pause between the beats.

Hoping that ignoring the stranger would make him go away, Asuka didn't move. The third knock made her get up, sigh, and stride to the door. She really didn't have the time to deal with-

Shinji Ikari was standing there with a large pot in both hands and a cover on top of it. He was holding the handlebars with oven-pads. "H-Hi…"

"Shinji…" Asuka blinked with surprise, then looked down at the pot, "What is that?"

"I-I made some dinner… can I come in?" He asked.

Asuka stared at the boy, completely lost. She swayed in the doorway some and her stomach cried out. Shinji's face altered a little more to allow a smile.

She blinked, unsure of what to do. She was almost ready to tell him to go away and close the door in his face when a whiff of what was in the pot teased her nose. She stared down at it. "Okay…" She heard herself say and backed up to allow Shinji to come in.

Ikari handled the cumbersome pot and was relieved to see the oven clear. He landed it there, then turned on the kitchen's oven light. Asuka moved past him and asked, "What did you make?"

Shinji looked around for plates and utensils before saying, "Seven-seas-casserole. I didn't have any mushrooms to add though…."

Asuka hesitated. She had heard of it, had it once, and regretted never having it again. "Plates are in here." She tapped a cupboard, then opened a utensil drawer to expose the silverware. Her eyes spotted the bag of Raman and coffee- already three of the twelve coffees had been consumed and the Ramen untouched. Instead she opened the refrigerator and bowed into it. Shinji saw her take out a jug of milk and set it on the counter. "Glasses are there." She pointed to another cupboard. Shinji went to it while Asuka asked, "Are you okay with milk?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." She said, taking the cups from him and pouring out milk for each of them.

Shinji lifted the cover and a cloud of steam erupted. With it came the fresh smell, and for a second Asuka was entranced by the alluring scent of food. She had to re-focus her eyes and pull a large spoon out of a drawer to hand to Shinji. He already had a plate ready and served her some. "That's fine…" She said after two scoops.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm." She replied and took the plate and a fork. Shinji dished himself out some as well and stepped into her apartment. He saw the books.

"I told you I was studying." Asuka replied as she took a seat on the floor. There were no chairs. Shinji took a seat on the floor as well.

Asuka only had the lamp-stock by her bed lit where it was projected over her homework. It gave the room an odd sunset feel- since she had the blinds drawn closed. Outside it was starting to get dark anyway though.

Shinji waited for her to take the first bite. She shoveled a fork-full into her mouth, chewed, and then found herself murmuring at the taste. Her eyes bolted to Shinji, where he only smiled and then started to eat.

They were quiet for a minute, eating Shinji's prepared meal. Asuka practically devoured it and finished up with draining two-thirds of her glass of milk. Only when she motioned to set her plate down did she realize she was still hungry.

Shinji set his down and took it from her. "I'll get you some. Do you need more milk?"

Asuka shook her head.

Shinji silently got up and walked into the kitchen. She watched him, and then turned to look at her studies.

Her mother wouldn't like this.

Asuka swallowed, trying to still her nerves. Mother didn't need to know. That was part of the reason she moved out after all, was to get some distance and have some degree of privacy… despite the fact that she was still a dependent under her mother's umbrella. She looked back at Shinji, ending her thoughts as the boy returned with another plate. After handing it to her, he sat down cross-legged and resumed his meal.

She stared at the plate, knowing it was a further denial of her mother's wishes. She was supposed to be studying. The instructor had allowed Asuka to re-test once he learned who Asuka's mother was. She was supposed to take it again tomorrow, and needed to cram as much as possible. Since Asuka wasn't told which problems she got wrong, it meant going over everything again.

Her stomach cried out again though, and hunger tugged at her esophagus. Frowning, she picked the plate up, then started to eat again.

"Woa," Shinji said with awe, "I didn't know you'd inhale it!"

Asuka blinked and looked up. She swallowed, then asked, "Is that all right?"

"It's fine," He dismissed with a wave, "I made more than enough. I figured you might be getting sick of Raman."

"Sick of it?"

Shinji looked away. "Every time I have it anyway it just tastes like plastic. I guess I'm sensitive to the artificial flavoring in it… or something." He looked back at her, "I just thought you'd want something better to eat while you're studying."

Asuka's mouth went agape. She didn't deserve this… and she hardly knew the boy. Why was he being nice to her?

The phone rang in a particular tone, making Asuka jump.

"Wow, what is-" Shinji asked and then stopped. Asuka had gone three shades lighter. "Asuka?" He asked.

She handed him the plate and stood. He took it, and Asuka grabbed her black cell phone from the pillow and opened it. She answered in German, "Hallo?"

Shinji just looked up at Asuka. He could hear the voice on the other end somewhat, and winced. Was that…?

Asuka answered in German, the tone suggesting she was trying to argue a point. She was suddenly cut off by a reply, and Shinji's eyes widened.

"Ja, Mutter." Asuka answered in monotone after a silence. Another pause. "Ja, Mutter."

Shinji was a little scared. Asuka's look had gone blank and she was staring ahead. "Ja, Mutter."

She simply lowered her hand and snapped the phone closed. She took a breath, and then said without turning, "I have to go to the base."

Shinji stood with her plate in hand. "Well, So much for dinner…" He said lightly. He bent down and took his own plate off the ground.

"Yes." Asuka said quietly.

Shinji moved into the kitchen, "Let me take care of these and then I'll join you."

Asuka blinked and looked up. "What?"

"Yeah, Doctor Akagi wanted me in the base later too. I said I might be later, but I guess if we're done with dinner then I might as well go with you."

Asuka shook her head slowly, but only got as far as turning it left as her eyes stared at Shinji. She stared at him as he cleaned the plates, snapping up more mouthfuls of his own before disposing of the rest. He looked at her, "Did you want any more of this before I pitched it?"

She blinked, staring at him for a moment. "Yes," She declared spontaneously, then affirmed her action by walking into the kitchen, taking the plate, then downing some more mouthfuls before she finished it. She stuck the plate in the small sink, and Shinji placed his on top of hers, with both forks on top.

"Uhm," He said when he considered the pot. He looked at her, "Do you have any way to pack this?"

Asuka didn't. "No…Uhm…"

"Oh…" Shinji said. "Well…" he looked at the pot, "You have some cling wrap?"

"Yeah…" Asuka replied and knelt to get some. Shinji uncovered the pot and looked at the contents. When she leaned up with the roll she saw he was looking at the fridge. Putting two and two together she shook her head, "I couldn't…"

"You don't have the space?"

"No but-"

"I don't mind," He said simply, "I can do without it… I need to buy more kitchenware anyway. It's better than the Ramen."

Asuka hesitated, and then finally relented. She slipped the wrap over the pot, rearranged the inside of her refrigerator, then discovered it wouldn't fit with the Milk.

"Well…" Shinji said, but stopped as Asuka grabbed the jug, uncapped it, and downed the last of the milk. She crushed the carton and put it aside, muttering, "Does a body good…" as she slipped the pot in. She closed the refrigerator.

"If fits!" Shinji said with some triumph.

She stood and looked at him. Shinji looked back, expecting some comment, but when hearing none he started to look worried. "Something wrong?"

She shook herself out of her stupor. "Nothing. Let's go."

They grabbed their things, made sure they had their gear and coats, and then left for the base.

* * *

It was a long and quiet walk to the base. Thrice Shinji wanted to ask Asuka about the phone conversation- and if that woman on the other end was _really_ Kyoko Zepplin Soryu. He didn't know Asuka's last name after all.

But it was obviously troubling. Rocking the boat could make things worse. Just before they got to the entrance though, Shinji muttered, "I-I'm glad you liked it…."

Asuka didn't say anything, but turned into the escalators leading down into the entrance of the subterranean base. She glanced at him as they rode the escalators down.

"Thanks." She offered in a quiet voice.

"N-" Shinji started, but Asuka turned away. He fell quiet, his return unsaid.

They both used their keycards to get in and Shinji followed Asuka through the corridors of the base. Points of their venture looked familiar from before, and Shinji felt grateful that he was starting to learn the layout of this place.

They reached the cages about five minutes later. Only when both of them closed on the entry into the locker rooms did the two of them realize it was co-ed.

"Uhm…" Shinji hesitated and looked at Asuka.

"Go ahead and change first." Asuka said with a wave, and leaned against the wall.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Shinji paused, then meekly accepted. "Okay…" he started into the changing room.

Asuka just stared at the ground, lost in thought.

Shinji changed in silence, putting all his things in the locker and closing it before sitting on the bench and trying to slip the plug suit on again. He had just stuck his first foot in when he heard a voice from outside, "Asuka!"

He stopped and listened, hearing Asuka shift against the wall.

"Why aren't you changing?"

"Ikari is inside."

"Ikari? What's he doing on the base?"

"Doctor Akagi said he had some testing to do…"

Shinji worked to slip on the garment.

"I see… And I suppose you happen to run into him on the way here?"

"Yes." Asuka said quickly, making Shinji pause.

A silence, then, "If you're lying to me-"

"I ran into him on the way here mother! He insisted that he'd come with me and I let him go in and change first!"

Shinij paused for a second time to listen, just about to get up and pull the plugsuit over his body.

"Ikari!" Kyoko called inside.

"Y-yes ma'am?"

"Hurry up in there!"

"Yes ma'am." Shinji responded and fitted the plug suit over his torso. He closed the seal at the back of his neck, then took a breath before fumbling around on his wrist for the seal. He gasped when his privates got squeezed by the material, but at least it wasn't chafing. He turned and walked for the doorway.

No sooner did he leave then Asuka whirled in behind him and hurried into the lockers. Shinji turned his head only to catch the blur of her hair, before he looked up to see Kyoko.

"Ikari," She said, "I don't care . If you interfere with Pilot Langley's performance I'll have word to your parents about suitable punishment."

Shinji's eyes dulled. It's not like his mother would care, anyway. "Yes Ma'am."

"Good." She said, considered the door, and then Shinji, "Don't waste time dawdling, Ikari." She whirled and started down the hallway. Shinji watched her until she disappeared behind a door.

He listened to see if he could hear Asuka before taking her place against the wall, pondering what had just gone on in the past five minutes. Finally Shinji heard the hiss of a plug suit, and Asuka came out shortly. She looked around, then at Shinji. "Mother's…"

She paused at the look on his face, but only for a moment. "They'll be waiting for us."

"Yeah," He replied, "Let's go…" His head hung a little as he followed her into the rest of the facility.

* * *

When Shinji arrived in the cage for Unit 01 Maya called to him over the cage intercom. "All set Shinji? Doctor Akagi's dealing with something else. She'll be here in a bit, but I promised her we'd get you ready."

"O-Okay…" Shinji said with a little smile, thankful that a friendly face was still overseeing the operation. He swallowed when he considered the Evangelion, though. He walked between the ground crews and towards the plug, entering it and taking a seat on the pilot chair. The technicians didn't talk to him as they went about their work and the plug door closed over him.

Unlike last time the lights came on.

Aside from the chair the plug seemed to be a hollow metal tube. There was nothing in the round rings to even suggest a projection mechanism. As it was, how could the inside of the plug be lit at all?

"U-uhm…" Shinji said, but no microphone replied. He considered the headset he had in his hands, then slipped it on.

The plug rammed forward. Remembering the process yesterday, the plug would start to fill with LCL soon. His pulse quickened a beat.

Shinji took a breath, then closed his eyes, and relaxed in the couch. He heard the running of the LCL into the plug, and started to count up to a hundred slowly.

When he reached seventy he opened his eyes. The plug was already full. He took a breath out and bubbles escaped. He'd have to get used to that.

Maya's voice interrupted, "Okay Shinji, we're going to start the system up now. Ready?"

Shinji gripped the handles as he remembered the light show of the last time. "Ready." He said.

The plug went dark, then exploded into light. Shinji watched the light show play around him, from the glass shards in space to being bombarded by stars. Multicolor whirlwinds spiraled around him before a blast of white, and then the bars of the cockpit resolved. The hum began.

English words appeared before Shinji's face. He leaned back suddenly in surprise, trying to read them again. They seemed… different than the other words he saw last time. Before Shinji could decipher them, they were gone.

"All right!" Maya's voice declared, "Looks like your startup is complete Shinji. How do you feel?"

Shinji flexed his hand and looked at it. "Feels like my hand's being held in something…"

"Ah!" Maya's voice said, then, "It's the restraints. Your Evangelion is currently locked down in manual restraint systems. Part of 'synchronizing' with your Eva means you feel the same sensations that your robot does. While it means you'll be feeling any physical trauma or pain that happens to your robot, it also gives you a lot greater control. Eventually we'll have your Eva unit freed so you can take a walk around and familiarize yourself with the system."

"I-I feel the robot's pain?" Shinji asked.

"I know it sounds scary, but part of our job is monitoring the nerve connections. If it becomes too bad, we can lock-out the nerve input in question and keep you from getting hurt."

"C-Can I die?" Shinji asked.

"Well.. the guess is that your Eva would have to die for you to be dead too, Shinji."

He didn't know quite what to make of that.

"All right. Until Doctor Akagi gets here there isn't much we can do… the Eva is locked down and stuff. Oh! I know, let's walk you through the HUD and instrumentation…."

* * *

In the next hangar, Evangelion unit 02 was under similar restraints. The narrow, four-eyed head of the German-produced unit was staring straight ahead. In the plug, Asuka had completed her own tests. She coughed when the system came up again.

"Asuka," Her mother's voice said as a plate materialized on her left, "We're going to go through this again. Start the process."

Asuka kept her hands on the controls- she was supposed to. She closed her eyes and did the best she could to relax.

In the booth overlooking the Evangelion unit, Kyoko had her arms crossed as she stared through the glass. Behind her, the technicians were monitoring her progress. "Notify me if she goes beneath 30%." Kyoko toned.

"Yes ma'am."

Kyoko winced.

In the plug, Asuka's feelings were a slow whirlpool. She had been through this enough times to know how the system worked, what set it off, and so on. She only needed to think back to her first battle against the fourth angel to remember…

A small change in that whirlpool. Asuka worked to correct it, but the dent remained. She couldn't dismiss her performance in that battle easily, and worked to keep the memory from playing out in her head. One trick, she had discovered, was to try blotting it out with another memory.

The pool of pleasant thoughts was thin and worn though. Even the day she discovered she would be a pilot- once a source of joy and fulfillment- had been married to the looming presence of Her Mother. Nowadays, it was akin to a death sentence.

…even the one date she took, way back when with Alex, was marred by the fact that he was using her to boost himself. Dating the child genius and using her to excel on his tests. The night she found out he had someone else…. Her head lowered.

"Asuka." Toned in the cockpit.

Asuka grasped the handles, trying to recover. Her mother's voice had been the hand to knock the plate off of its balance, and she had to stabilize it. Asuka scoured her mind for another memory to hold on to, at least to get a synch level high enough to appease her mother. Else, it was going to be a long night.

Dolly had been a source of comfort since long ago, but metaphorically, dolly was looking ragged and beat up. She clung to the memory anyway, one friend that had never abandoned her.

"Keep it up Asuka…"

Her mind winced as she clung on to the doll, and on to the butterfly handles in the plug. Her chest had collapsed a little, unnoticed by her mother, simulating her mind's action of the doll.

What else?

There, in the distance.

This evening.

A fresh wave of emotion hit her when she returned to the moment of opening her front door. Shinji was standing there, smiling, that pot in hand and oven mitts over the handles.

She lingered in that one moment, just staring at him stand there in the doorway with his offer for her. He kept smiling, stupidly perhaps, but a genuine smile.

Her guard came up, waxy plates moving up around the edges of her vision to snip it out of her consciousness, but she let the vision linger. It switched.

He was seated next to her, enjoying the meal.

The lines on her face relaxed.

"Good…good! Keep it up Asuka!" Her mother's voice proclaimed.

Mother.

Asuka's eyes opened.

Like a virus, the vision of her mother finding out about Ikari's unauthorized visit spread through her thoughts, coloring them pale yellow with fear. She gagged. She couldn't hear her mother's words as she started to shiver at the prospects of being sent back on base, living with her mother. She gagged again and the back of her throat started to burn.

There was panic over the audio but Asuka couldn't hear it. She was trying to keep her dinner down.

She failed.

* * *

Maya cut off mid-syllable. "Maya?" Shinji asked.

A pause. Then, "Hold on Shinji… something just happened in Evangelion 02… Doctor Akagi just walked in but she had to see what was going on over there."

"Is Asuka all right?" Shinji asked.

Maya didn't respond immediately. "I don't know Shinji, I can't see why she wouldn't be. Just hang tight."

Shinji paused as the screen closed, and he was left alone in the entry plug. He relaxed again in the seat, releasing the butterfly handles, thinking of Asuka… and her mother.

Then he looked down at the controls. Now that he had some idea of their uses… could he…?

Shinji tried to focus. Controlling Evangelions, Maya had told him, was partially through thought alone. Shinji was well afraid of the negative aspects, but maybe he could…

A comm window opened. Shinji turned his head to look.

Asuka was covering her mouth, and drifting in front of her was an orange mist. Shinji blinked and realized it was her dinner.

"Asuka!" He called.

Her head peeked up from her knees, her blue eyes wide and staring at him. A hand swung to the plate and the communication ended.

Shinji just stared at where the window was, in shock. He pondered opening another channel but decided against it. Something was wrong…

* * *

They opened the plug for Unit 02.

The LCL being drained had to be discarded from contamination. They also had to decontaminate the plug now, using extra measures since stomach acid was a whole different matter from loose skin cells.

Asuka tried to hoist herself out of the plug but collapsed, shaking. Her mother was right there.

Kyoko opened her mouth but Ritsuko's voice intercepted anything she wanted to say. "Is there a problem?"

Kyoko whirled. Doctor Akagi was right there, arms crossed.

Kyoko looked back down at her daughter. "Minor troubles in synchronization testing. We accomplished 44%, at least."

Ritsuko stepped forward, "Accomplished by driving your fourteen year old daughter to the limit?"

Kyoko whirled, and her eyes spotted the clipboard in Ritsuko's hand. 'UNIT 02 TEST SCH' was all she could read. Her eyes returned to Ritsuko's face.

"You of all people," Kyoko turned back to her daughter, "Don't even think you can preach to me about morality over the need for results." She grabbed her daughter's wrist and helped her up.

Ritsuko said nothing.

Kyoko closed her eyes as she held her trembling daughter's wrist. "Go clean up." She commanded.

"Yes, Mother." Asuka replied and plodded away slowly, a vacant look on her face. The technicians folded around her with towels and sensor equipment.

Kyoko watched her leave, then stared at Ritsuko.

Doctor Akagi's stare remained level. "Morality in this instance has nothing to do with it. If you kill her, you'll-"

"I know what I'm doing." Kyoko said, stepping forward, "I should, since I'm director of health maintenance, aren't I? All you have to worry about is the machines."

Kyoko walked swiftly by Ritusko, not even flinching. Ritsuko let her pass, then looked at Evangelion 02.

"Limits…" She muttered, "Limits of morality, limits of performance…." She checked herself, left the rest unsaid, and returned to the cage holding Unit 01.

* * *

The comm. Window opened in Evangelion 01. It was Ritsuko.

"Okay Shinji, we're going to try another synchronization test. Are you ready?"

"W-Wait…" Shinji asked, "Doctor Akagi… is Asuka fine?"

"She's fine Shinji, just under a lot of stress. Don't worry about it for now, Doctor Zeppelin has the situation under control."

That didn't settle Shinji's thinking. He tried to relax in the cockpit.

In the observation box, Ritsuko saw the synch ratio dip. She sighed.

* * *

Asuka coughed as she sat on the bed, hugging the towel to her sides. She didn't look up as the door opened, someone walked in, and closed it behind them. Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu sighed as she stared at her daughter. "You did better today."

"Yes mother."

"I suppose that will have to do. But somehow Doctor Akagi managed to have you retained here, overnight, for a full medical checkup. Your little stunt in the entry plug not only embarrassed me but also sabotaged your studies."

The exam. Asuka looked up, "What?"

Kyoko had a grim stare down at Asuka, expressionless save for the hint of disappointment between her eyes. Cold, unfeeling, disappointment. "Consider the consequences next time before you decide to act melodramatic again."

Kyoko left the room. The door might as well have slammed behind her.

* * *

Yui Ikari did not look up from her work. "It's uncharacteristic of you to be so maternal, doctor."

Ritsuko blinked, taken aback a little as she hadn't thought about that aspect of her report. "I don't understand what you mean. I'm coming here only on concern for the pilot's health."

"A duty assigned to Doctor Soryu, correct?"

"That does not make her above criticism by her peers."

Yui finally looked up from her assignments. She folded her hands. "Yes, Doctor Zeppelin came in earlier to inform me about your 'intrusion on her territory', as she put it."

Ritsuko winced. "As technical supervisor, the Evangelions cannot be made to function if the pilots are dead. Moreover, I do not want my department blamed on pilot death in the event Zeppelin runs her daughter into the ground. I'm sure you recall there are mandates about how long a pilot is allowed to remain synchronized with an Evangelion… something you yourself signed into the legislation after your initial contact experiments with unit 01."

Yui gathered her papers on her desk. "I recall that mandate doctor."

"And you can see from this report that Evangelion 02 has been operational far longer than the exceeded amount- by five hours at least."

"Your concerns have been noted, doctor." Yui said and stood. "Per your recommendation, the pilot of Unit 02 has been hospitalized overnight for a full medical examination."

"Thank you."

Yui started out of her office. "Don't expect any favors from Kyoko, however. Also," she held the door open, "Any more of this infighting between you and Doctor Zeppelin better not enter my office again. I have little patience for this snit going on between the two of you over Evangelion operation."

"Even if it concerned your son?" Ritsuko asked as she left the office.

Yui closed the door to her office. "Yes."

* * *

[REDACT]

[AUDIT]

R+


	4. The Prototype

IV

The Prototype

Shinji tried not to let the events of last night bother him. When he set out this morning he thought about knocking on Asuka's door, wondering if she was back yet and how she was doing. But with the way things were he didn't know if anything he did would rock the boat. He decided to skip it go to class.

Hikari had a welcome face when he entered, giving him a greeting from over a stack of papers. He offered her a sympathetic look before making his way to his desk. He took his seat, pulled out the cookbook again, and started to read.

Class proceeded as normal today. A glance behind him during class showed that Suzuhara was mercifully absent. Rei was here though, staring out the window as always and appearing uninterested in class activities. Shinji couldn't blame her... the teacher was a complete bore, again on another topic, and again of his life's history and how it pertained to the second impact. Why WAS this man instructing them? He still had yet to ask anyone in authority.

Then he checked himself. How could Dr. Akagi have any say in the day-to-day operations of school? That would mean NERV had control of school too, or at least this place was a subsidiary of NERV. It looked too much like a local grade school to have that kind of connection though, and it seemed paranoid for that suggestion to be a serious one. Shinji sighed.

At the end of class only one thing had happened today: assignment of homework. Some mathematics problems had been passed around and they were instructed (almost as an afterthought, Shinji thought) to finish them over the weekend and turn them in on Monday. As he glanced at the paperwork Shinji sighed at the equations he saw. He'd have to brush up on mathematics again… one of his least favorite subjects.

He slipped the papers into his until-now-empty binder and stood. A shadow to his left drew his attention and he saw Rei, standing and looking at him. "R-Rei?"

"Doctor Akagi wants you to report to the cages at 3:30pm." She said simply, "That is all." She turned and started out of class. Shinji, blinking, just watched her go.

So did Hikari, as she was by the door, and she looked over at Shinji. "What was that about?" She asked as he walked over to her desk.

Shinji shook her head. "She told me that…er… well, she just gave me a message from a doctor I'm seeing."

"Oh? You have the same doctor?"

"Something like that…" Shinji glanced at his phone. There weren't any calls…

He waited with Hikari to close up the classroom. "T-Toji wasn't here today…" He observed.

"He didn't show up to class." Hikari replied as she locked the door, "I don't blame him. I filed a report but I'm not going any further then that…" She turned, "His sister's really in a bad way."

Shinji looked at her, "Do you know where she's being treated?"

"…Probably NERV hospital," Hikari said, "They took my sister there for... treatment."

"O-oh…" Shinji muttered.

"Anyway," Hikari perked some, "Some homework! I know you were just itching for your first assignment here in a new school."

"Hehe…" Shinji laughed off nervously. He had actually wondered if he should allow himself to hope for no homework this morning. Well, so much for that…

Hikari tilted her head a little, "If you need help don't be afraid to ask me. I'm also a part-time tutor, in addition to class representative."

"Really?"

"Mhmm." She nodded, "Although, I seem to be helping other students more from other classes than this one…"

"Ah…" Shinji said.

They parted at the front gate with Hikari waving goodbye again. Shinji checked his clock to gauge the time, and wondered if there might be time enough to see Asuka in the medical wing. He paused on the sidewalk to wonder where the nearest entrance to the base was and how much time he could allow himself without an excuse.

Though, he wondered, would there be any guarantee that Asuka was going to still be in the hospital? Maybe she was released already… she DID have her studies…

"Oh, right," He said and started walking again, "She probably doesn't want to be bothered…"

* * *

Ritsuko Akagi was looking at the doctor's report for the pilot of unit 02.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Maya asked her, putting papers down on her desk, "I mean, we ARE going behind Doctor Soyru's back."

Ritsuko sipped her coffee, then put it down on the desk. "That woman wouldn't know how to take care of a chia-pet."

Maya gasped, leaning out of the cubicle and looking down the hall.

"I don't care if she knows what I think of her." Ritsuko replied, "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew already."

Maya hugged the remaining folders to her chest. "How could she be like that, though? Is it just the way she is?"

Ritsuko's eyes slid to a photograph. Then she looked back at her computer. "No, something happened. Not many of us are sure what, though."

Maya sighed sadly. Then, "I feel bad for Asuka… both daughter and pilot. It's putting a burden on her…"

"There's a school of thought that says stress either makes or breaks people."

"Maybe, but which is the more common result between the two?"

Ritsuko didn't answer.

Maya sighed again and changed the subject. "Rei called. Shinji's been notified."

"I hope the girl didn't break cover. Sometimes I think she can be too straightforward."

"Are we THAT paranoid over security? In the school?"

"It's not the school, the students, or the faculty that I'm necessarily worried about there." Ritsuko sipped her coffee again, "But it's anyone else that might be listening. NERV has many enemies, and giving them any extra leverage to investigate us might turn up too many rocks for the human race to handle."

Maya's eyes bugged. "NERV has enemies? What?"

"All organizations do." Ritsuko replied, "There never was an organization anywhere that didn't have an opponent someplace, for some reason." She looked at Maya, "On another matter, did you remember to bring File 7A-113 didn't you?"

"Oh!" Maya's eyes bugged again as she remembered the file, then pulled it out from the stack in her hands and handed it to Ritsuko.

The doctor in charge of NERV-Sciences, Technical division, opened it up. "I suppose Kyoko and I must disagree on everything… including matters needing both of our expertise."

"Is that for the reactivation of unit 00? Is it possible?"

"I think so." Ritsuko replied, "And I'm confident this will work."

"Why is Doctor Soryu so opposed to it?"

Ritsuko didn't reply for a moment, but eventually said, "There are a few reasons. Perhaps one of them is that she doesn't want to see me proven right."

"Will it really result in a thermonuclear explosion?"

Ritsuko stopped and turned to her assistant. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Oh! Uhm… that's what some of the guys were talking about?"

"Your boyfriend, you mean."

Maya blushed. "A-Aoba isn't my boyfriend!"

Ritsuko titled her head. "Oh? And I wondered if I was hallucinating when seeing the two of you in that coffee shop."

"_That was you?_"

Ritsuko just smiled.

"S-Senpai…"

"Maya, relax. I might be as heartless and uncompromising as Kyoko or Doctor Ikari at times, but even I can understand the need for liesure. Besides, you could do worse."

"T-Thank you Senpai…" Maya bowed.

"And I suppose you want this evening off to see him?"

"Err…. Tomorrow morning actually." Maya came up, smiling, "I wanted to come in today to see Shinji."

Ritsuko smiled again. "So you're romancing our dear Shinji in the afternoon while Aoba has the morning?"

Maya blushed furiously again, "D-Doctor Akagi!"

Ritsuko just swiveled back to her computer with a smile on her face. "Though," She added after a moment, "Sometimes, I wonder about that boy."

Maya tentatively asked, "I-Is something wrong with Shinji?"

"Wrong? Oh, nothing wrong." Ritsuko said, then glanced at one file in a row of several, "Just… something." She turned her head, "Are you busy with anything now?"

"Er, No ma'am."

"Then best get Cage 01 nice and ready for Shinji when he arrives."

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

"You know, to set the mood."

"D-Doctor!!!"

* * *

"Ah, excuse me," Shinji said.

Two of the NERV employees stopped in the hall.

"C-Can you tell me where the hospital wing is?"

Both of the employees looked each other and then away as they sighed. "Wh-What?" Shinji asked with some alarm, had he embarrassed himself?

"Kid," One said, "It's a LOOONG way from here."

"And you're likely to get lost." The other replied.

The first asked, "What business you have over there anyway?"

"I wanted to check on someone…"

"Well," One of the men said, "You could go back to one of the hubs and try direction there. There's a hub just back the way you came, just follow the hallway. It has a Map, but good luck keeping a sense of direction in here."

"T-Thanks…" Shinji said.

"No problem Kid." One of them said and the two employees walked off.

Shinji sighed. He HAD been following one of the hub map directions. Apparently this place was that easy to get lost in. He followed the directions of the employees and entered the open hexagonal plaza, ringed with elevators and corridors going off into other directions. There was a map.

'YOU ARE HERE' was almost on the other side of the base from the medical wing, which was actually on the ground level of the Geofront. Shinji, somehow, was five levels beneath. The elevator ride must have been deeper than Shinji would have otherwise imagined.

Sighing, he decided to just detour and go to the cages. He could ask Doctor Akagi about seeing Asuka later.

He followed the directions to get back to the familiar path, then took it to the changing room. After hearing no reply to his inquiry into the room, he stepped inside and quickly donned his plugsuit. From there, he made his way to Cage 01.

It was already lit and the technicians were working. "All right Shinji! Right on time." Maya's voice called, "Just step on in and we'll get started!"

"O-Okay…" Shinji replied and repeated the process from yesterday. The plug lights were left on again, so he closed his eyes and counted to a hundred after being rammed forward. He didn't even think about the bubbles exhaling from his system until the light show was already in effect.

When the cockpit resolved, the English lettering appeared again. Shinji, expecting them, tried to decipher the characters. He hadn't been keeping up with his English, but he retained some knowledge of what the funny characters meant. He focused on one of them to burn it into his memory before it vanished.

LOVE

The next word faded before he could figure it out. He leaned back in the cockpit. Love? Why was a cockpit system saying that?

"All right! All In, Shinji?"

"Y-Yes ma'am." Shinji replied.

"Okay. We're going to do something radical today Shinji. Today, you're gonna learn how to walk."

* * *

Ritsuko came in as they were beginning the process of draining the coolant liquid. "Well well," Ritsuko said, "I see you two have gotten along nicely. Enjoying Shinji all to yourself, Maya?"

"D-Doctor!" Maya blushed.

Shinji, from his window, asked, "Maya, Why are you blushing?"

"Nothing consequential Shinji." Ritsuko replied, "I trust Maya told you what we have in store for today?"

"She said something about walking…"

"Correct. Your synchronization rate is satisfactory enough for control and combat. Today, we are going to teach you control. We have all afternoon to instruct you, and for graduation this evening you'll be supervising the reactivation of another Evangelion unit."

Eyes turned to look at the Doctor, but Ritsuko didn't acknowledge them. She just remained focused on Evangelion 01 and Shinji's window. "R-Reactivation?" Shinij asked, "Is Asuka okay?"

"Asuka's fine Shinji. It's not her unit you'll be looking after."

"Then whose?"

"One thing at a time."

* * *

It was an odd sensation, Shinji would admit, to feeling the coolant drain down the length of the Evangelion. Watching it was just as strange. From the perspective of the Evangelion unit, draining the tank took about three minutes to complete. The floor down below looked oddly like bath tile, and using the zoom function in his monitor, he could see it was indeed made up of rows and rows of ordinary ceramic tiles. He wondered how long it had taken to construct.

His next surprise was the separation of the walls. He looked up into the cage's observation windows and saw Maya waving at him. He looked back down at the communication window to see her wink. Shinji smiled.

The walls parted, and although Shinji's hands felt like they were still being held at the wrist, otherwise his hands felt free. Indeed, the Evangelion's were as well. Then the whole assembly around him started to move.

"Shinji," Ritsuko said, "We're moving Evangelion 01 to an enclosed area. We're also relocating there. We'll be out of touch for about five minutes, is this okay?"

"Y-Yeah." He replied.

"Okay. See you in five minutes."

The communication window went out and Shinji watched as the framework around him moved. He didn't feel like flexing, or didn't think about moving the Evangelion, but he felt the potential was there. Indeed, he tried wiggling some of the fingers and saw them twitch on the right arm. But he shouldn't get ahead of himself- who knew what was possible in one of these things?

The restraints moved forward and then moved along a long trench. Shinji could see the entrance into the locker rooms as he passed it. Connecting the two together, he now had a better perspective of the immediate layout than he did before. Shinji wondered how well of a grasp he'd have on the bases' insides when exploring it from an Evangelion.

Five minutes of slow moving in the scaffold later and the comm. came back online. "Shinji? This is Maya. We're located in a null zone test block at one end of the cages. That's where we're sending you. We'll teach you how to walk in your Eva there."

"O-Okay."

"I'm told it's really easy."

"Told?"

Maya paused on the other end before adding, "There's a reason why you specifically were chosen for this, Shinji. I or anyone else can't pilot it, only certain gifted children can."

"Gifted?"

"That's what I was told... I don't know the specifics. Anyway I noticed you were wiggling the fingers earlier."

Shinji's hair bristled, "Is that okay?"

"Nothing consequential, but that's basically the gist of it. You have to imagine your Eva performing the action and the machine translates for you. It takes a little adjusting to, but you'll pick it up I'm sure of it."

Shinji looked down at the butterfly handles. "Then what are these for?"

"Well um…" Maya hesitated, "I guess… something to focus on and hold on to? The triggers work at least- but you're not armed at the moment."

"So they're useless then….?"

"Not really. If you're angry, you can pump them and maybe something will happen."

Ritsuko's voice cut in, "The handles do nothing Shinji. They're just there to help the pilot in controlling the machine by imagining the controls are linked to specific actions. For example, a trigger is normally associated with firing a gun, even though when you have a weapon, you don't need the trigger to shoot it."

"….oh…." Shinji replied, looking down at the handles he had been afraid to fiddle with until now.

"Do you understand?"

"I think so."

"Well, in any event, we'll have it all ironed out soon."

A door opened to Shinji's left as the restrains slid along the wall. He turned his head to look through the Eva's monitors. Evangelion 01 slid into place.

The chamber he was in now was vast… about the size of several aircraft hangars. Of course, with Evangelion a whole other scale was needed. The interior space was arrayed in a plus-shape, and the tile walls were plain white. Like the plug when starting up, it was well lit, but Shinji couldn't make out a light source.

The sound of thunder accompanied Shinji's machine coming to a halt.

"Okay Shinji," Maya said, "First, balance. You'll need to be able to stand the Evangelion up without toppling over. It's just like standing up normally."

"I-Is it hard?"

"Shouldn't be, but you never know with synchronization systems and balance. Ready? 3, 2, 1."

Metal slams reached Shinji's ears and suddenly he felt a little heavier. The Evangelion sagged forward.

"Okay, hold position Shinji." Ritsuko said.

"Testing…" Maya's voice said, "Testing… balance is off by 0.0003%… correcting… all right!"

Shinji smiled.

"Now Shinji," Ritsuko said, "It's time to walk. You moved the fingers before, now imagine taking a step."

Shinji swallowed, and tried it.

The Evangelion foot raised, then set down off the platform for the restraints.

"All right! Way to go Shinji!" Maya announced.

Shinji smiled again and laughed in triumph.

"Now, shift balance to the other foot and step forward. You haven't walked yet until you've reached the second step, Shinji."

Shinji swallowed. He raised the other foot.

But halfway to arching the foot over he suddenly lost confidence. What if he messed up? What if he made a mistake?

"Waaa!"

Evangelion 01's left shoulder leaned into the wall, and then the purple unit toppled forward. He landed with a crash, screaming.

The rumble of Evangelion 01's topple echoed in the chamber for a while. The team observing made some muffled disappointed noises.

"Well," Ritsuko said, "Not everyone is perfect on their first try."

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry!" Shinji was bleating in the cockpit.

"Shinji don't worry! Not everyone…uhm…" Maya looked to Ritsuko.

Doctor Akagi smirked, then leaned on the console and flipped on the microphone. "Shinji, get up."

"But I Can't! The controls aren't working!"

Ritsuko said again patiently, "Just get up. It isn't hard."

"But I Can't! The controls…"

"Then close your eyes and try again."

Shinji blinked, then closed his eyes.

_He was on the floor of his apartment, having taken a tumble out of bed. His face was against the black tile of the unadorned apartment. He moved his arms out, and with a grunt, pushed off the floor. Moving his legs, he gathered them up under him before pushing off the ground and then pushing with his knees. He stood up._

He stood up.

Shinji opened his eyes. Evangelion 01 was standing again in the white, padded, testing room.

"It's as simple as that, Shinji." Ritsuko said.

Shinji blinked in realization. Seeing through his mind again, he raised his hand.

The Evangelion's hand also raised. He turned the head to look at it, then swung it in front of him. He balled the fist, uncurled, then balled it again.

"It moves… It moves!!" Shinji cried in triumph.

"You have an understanding of the control mechanism, now." Ritsuko said, "It's through thought and thought translation. This is an advantage over other analog mechanisms which are too cumbersome to use. Try walking again Shinji, but think about it normally and not as a machine."

Shinji nodded, lowering his hand. He thought about moving the leg again, stopped, then closed his eyes and took a step forward.

Bam.

He strode forward again.

Bam.

"Shinji you did it!"

Bam. One foot was next to the other. Shinji opened his eyes.

A window was open with Ritsuko's smile. "Very good Shinji." She said, "Now, let's try it with your eyes open this time."

* * *

The next time Shinji looked at the chronometer, it was already 9:30pm. "Wah!" he cried, "It's already half-past nine!?"

"But look at how far you've come." Ritsuko said.

Shinji was in the testing cell still, now holding an empty pallet rifle. He had learned how to stand, walk, crouch, un-crouch, walk backwards, side-step, and a whole host of other maneuvers. He had been through training to pick up objects, handle them delicately, and so on. He was in the middle of learning how to hold weapons, and already knew how to replace the umbilical cable at the back of his machine.

During the exercises Ritsuko had remarked that the system was practically intuitive, and Shinji had to admit once he knew how it worked, the system was dead simple to learn. As Ritsuko's last comment resounded in his thoughts, he realized that Evangelion control was not unlike moving his own body.

"Now Shinji, its time for graduation from basic training. Next door is the test chamber with Evangelion 00 inside. Today, we are going to try reactivating it. You're to move inside and monitor the test to make sure Evangelion 00 doesn't go out of control."

"Out of control?"

"If it does, restrain it. We'll do the rest."

Shinji swallowed. But then, he was able to control Evangelion. Perhaps it wasn't that hard. "All right." He answered with a strange tone of voice. Then, a mouse startled by the power of his roar, Shinji recoiled a little in the cockpit. He thought he could hear Maya's comment in the background, "Oh so manly…"

In the testing cage's overlook station, Ritsuko gave a knowing smile at Maya. The assistant just blushed furiously, making Maya's humorous quip backfire.

Another door opened and Shinji passed through it into another section. He was advised to switch cables, and did so. When he stepped into the chamber he looked around.

There were bits of purple here and there on the chamber floors and walls, but otherwise the material was the same as the last chamber he was in. Little vehicles, toys at this height, were stationed here and there on the distant tile floor. Crews looked up at the towering Evangelion unit, and Shinji had to resist the urge to wave at them. Then he looked at the other Evangelion.

The unit was a little shorter than his, if not the same height, and missing the massive shoulder fins his Evangelion had. If his Eva was ugly this one was even stranger: a giant lens on the top of the head's center and a single eye at the front of an angled face-plate. The torso armor was also different. The unit was bound in restraints now, with an attachment assembly set on its shoulders. He could make out a plug from here.

"All right Shinji," Ritsuko said, "Hold position. We're just getting started in here, and the pilot isn't even in yet."

Shinji relaxed in the cockpit and let his eyes play over the other machine. Imagine, other machines like this one. What, then, would it be like to fight alongside them? Against them? The possibilities were staggering.

He observed some technicians on the shoulder braces and spotted two of them not in orange uniforms. He used the zoom function to get a close-up, and was greeted by an image of Rei in a plug suit… and His Father.

He had no audio pickup to listen in on their conversation, but they were talking about something. He experimented with the audio gain but he couldn't hear anything other than the loud clattering of preparations. He had to be content with just watching.

Rei seemed a little more emotive from this distance, not the cold mask he had been accustomed to seeing. His father, on the other hand, might as well be a different person. Shinji had never seen his father's face so… relaxed… nor his eyes with the touch of gentleness he was seeing now.

What was going on?

Shinji decided to close the feed.

* * *

Maya saw Shinij's synch ratio dip for a moment, and was about to comment about it when it returned to normal. She blinked, and decided to carry on. "Shinji, are you all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

Ritsuko on the other hand was still making sure everything was in order. It was her neck on the line here after all- not only as the NERV Sciences Technical department head, but as one of the positive opinions for reactivating the Evangelion unit. It was even more important now that the risk of the second child going insane seemed a distinct possibility.

When someone yawned loud and obnoxiously next to her, Ritsuko smiled without looking up. "Enjoy your time away?"

Misato Katusragi folded her hands back together. "Yeah, you can say that."

Ritsuko finally turned her head to the Department leader of NERV's tactical division. "You'd better tread lightly Commander, Kyoko's out for blood today and she'd have you written up all too quickly for reporting intoxicated."

Misato winced. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Ritsuko said as she moved to another panel, "The only times I can recall you wearing perfume so strong it reeked were when you were on a special date with 'mister K', or when you were trying to conceal the stench of alcohol on your breath." Ritsuko's eyes slid in Misato's direction, "Though were I to wager, I'd guess it was both."

Misato frowned. "And how did you reach this deduction, _doctor?_"

Ritsuko leaned back up and faced Misato. "Because your loveable boyfriend tried to seduce me this morning." She tilted her head, "I think he was concerned if anyone else had any say over you. What gave him that hint, I wonder?"

Misato turned away, a sour expression on her face.

Ritsuko, smirking, moved to another panel. "There's a new child here."

Misato stepped up to the observation window glass. "I wasn't completely brain-dead when I was on leave, Ritsuko, I saw the reports." She turned her head to look out the windows, "Is he any good?"

"So far he's been a good boy." Ritsuko replied, "Took to the Evangelion very well. Just the right level of imaginative thinking to master some of the advanced concepts. Breaks the other records on handling set so far."

Misato snorted. "That's not hard. We had… what… months before Asuka could wrap her head around the concept? And don't get me started with Rei."

"Well," Ritsuko countered as she adjusted the equipment, "Rei you can hardly fault, she was the first test subject after all. As for Asuka…"

Misato turned at Ritsuko's pause. "Something the matter?"

Ritsuko sighed, showing at last a sign of distraction. "Sometimes I worry about that girl."

Misato winced. "What do you mean?"

The door to the cubicle opened just then and more technicians entered. Behind them was Kyoko. She noticed Misato and gave her only a glance before glaring at Ritsuko. "I hope you're happy with this little experiment you staged, Akagi. I'm to remind you that I have say in terminating the experiment if even the slightest thing looks out of place."

"So I remember." Ritsuko replied. Maya had informed her about the detonation charges placed strategically through Evangelion 00's plating. If Kyoko hit the button, Unit 00 would be reduced to giblets.

Nobody was certain what would happen to Rei in that event.

Kyoko sighed angrily and moved to the glass. "Let's get this on with…."

Ritsuko watched her walk to the window, then leaned over the console next to her and depressed a control, "Shinji? We're going to begin in about three minutes. Are you ready?"

"Y-Yes Doctor Akagi, I'm ready."

"Very good." She finished and released the control.

"That Shinji?"

"That was Shinji Ikari."

"Sounds like a cute kid. When will I meet him?"

Ritsuko side-glanced at Misato. "Don't get any ideas. Besides," She turned back to the controls, "It seems he may already be spoken for."

Unnoticed, Maya blushed at the front of the control box.

* * *

Shinji watched the yellow-plated Evangelion while the technicians retreated into doors in the wall behind it. His father was long gone, and Rei had long since entered the plug. He swallowed nervously.

"All right," Ritsuko's voice echoed in the room and through his audio pickup, "We'll start from procedure 14-6-18. Team Alpha, I want you to look at the synapse C systems on startup. Maya, you're on general monitoring and contact info second. Kyoko, I'll leave pilot condition to you. Now then, ladies and gentlemen, let's get started."

Shinji wondered what Rei was feeling inside there. It certainly took him a while to adjust to the notion of being within the… the robot. What was Rei feeling in there? And why was she… no… he wouldn't worry about all that now. He had to focus on the test.

"Preliminaries cleared. Problems 387 and 848 inherent in last activation test have been cleared. Standing by for test unit operational independence." Maya announced.

Evangelion 00 seemed to slouch a little as the neck restraints released, and the lights on the sides of the unit came on.

"Okay, systems show green across the boards. Restraint and armor plates respond ready."

"Very good. Now, stage two."

"Beginning startup."

Shinji grasped the butterfly controls, and his hands felt tense.

"Problems 991 and 1048 inherent in last test have been cleared."

"Well that's a relief. I suppose this means it won't miss when it tries to smash the command center?"

"Hush. Maya, you have go for stage two."

Shinji heard Maya's nervous breath over the speakers before she announced, "Commencing startup. Skipping A-level procedures, plug has already been inserted. Beginning command line transfer sequence…. Startup."

The centermost eye on the mask of Evangelion unit 00 flashed on. Shinji tensed.

"That's standard Shinji. Relax, you'll know it if it goes berserk." Ritsuko said specifically into his cockpit. Shinji heard no double echo outside. He did as he was told and let the tension out of his hands.

"Passing phase two… moving to phase three…."

"Fingers crossed…"

"…And passed! Looks like synergy is in acceptable limits. Reading telemetry feed from Evangelion 00."

"You can take your hand off the button now, Kyoko. Rei? How are things in there?"

"Everything nominal, Doctor Akagi. Unit 00 has started up and is functioning normally."

"Very good."

Then an alarm started to shrill.


	5. Fortress

V

Fortress

At the siren, Shinji was immediately ordered to take his Evangelion back into the restraints. This wasn't as hard as it sounded- just basically meant walking back to the hangar and standing through the process of having his Evangelion clapped into the scaffold again.

All the while he wondered about the alarm. Ritsuko had just told him, "Get back to the cage, and then I'll tell you."

Shinji wondered why she hadn't said what it was right away. Was there cause for worry? He stood and squared the Evangelion's shoulders as the walls closed around the arms again. Though the neck braces clapped on to the Evangelion's shoulders, it didn't go much beyond that.

He was about to open a comm. window when one opened for him. It was Ritsuko. "Shinji, there's been a change of plans."

"Change of plans?" Shinji asked.

Ritsuko averted her eyes for a second, and then looked at him. "Shinji, I'm sorry to tell you this, but we might be sending you into combat."

"WHAT!?" Shinji exploded, "But… I wasn't even-"

"I know, and I'm sorry." Ritsuko responded, "But the commander's put a restriction on Rei's Evangelion. Yours is the only other functional unit aside from Unit 02."

"So Asuka is…"

"She's fine, and she'll be leading the charge against the Angel in Unit 02. I'm not sure what our Strategic commander has in mind, but I think it's safe to say you will be on backup."

Shinji swallowed.

Ritsuko stared at Shinji for a moment, then said, "You've performed better than I expected in the Evangelion, Shinji. I know you're ready for this."

"Bu-But… But I…."

"Shinji," Ritsuko said, "I'm the scientific adviser for NERV's technical department. If I say you're ready, you are ready. You're no more trained than Rei or Asuka were when they first started this."

"R-Really?"

"Really." Ritsuko replied, "But they learned on the go. Just as you will. In the worst case, Maya and I will make sure to pull you out of the fire before things get too bad. You won't be alone out there."

Shinji felt like someone was pulling on his insides, and he felt a little feint. He…He couldn't… could he?

But he would be helping Asuka.

Shinji set his jaw, remembering the circles under her eyes, the weariness in her step… how rabid she ate her food just last night… that look in her eyes…

"W-What would I have to do?" Shinji asked.

----------------

When Misato Katsuragi heard that particular alarm, she immediately phoned the bridge and asked for an intercept time. With an hour before the Angel's arrival she couldn't afford to gear down the pilots and their Evangelions. She promptly ordered Evangelion 01 to the cage, Evangelion 02 to be prepared for combat, and all duty personnel to the bridge.

NERV's command center was mostly staffed when she got there, striding confidently on to the deck despite whatever lingering traces she had of that drink with… well, that would come later. "Status?" She asked as she came through the archway into the command level.

NERV's scientific adviser, Yui Ikari, was already there. Presumably her Husband and the subcommander were high above them on the supervisor's plateau, but Misato didn't have time -or concern- to look. Yui turned and explained to the commander, "The Angel has appeared over the Pacific Ocean and is making its way here." She turned, and the holographic display dominating the huge room flickered to show the course of the object. "It will swing right over Lake Ashinoko, coming in from the south."

"Blood pattern?" Misato asked as she zipped up her jacket.

"Difficult to identify," Makoto announced, "Due to the target's crystalline structure… but confirmed blue."

"Crystalline?" Misato asked, turning to Yui.

Yui explained without missing a beat, "As you know commander, the Angels are an entirely different order of life from our own." She looked at the screen, "A silicon-based life-form is not unexpected in this instance."

"Huh…" Misato turned her head, "If it's made out of crystal, how are we able to get a blood reading?" Misato asked.

"It's there," Yui replied, "But there's so much about the Angels we haven't been able to comprehend yet. We had to get it through a spectral reading of its material composition." Yui was forced to admit.

"Plus," Makoto added, "It can't be anything else really…"

"Well," Misato crossed her arms, "So long as we can kill it. Time to intercept?"

"Forty-five minutes!"

"Status of Evangelion units?"

Aoba nodded. "Evangelion unit 01 is on standby cycle in Cage 02. Evangelion unit 02 is in pre-startup stage- the pilot is proceeding from the medical wing to the cages."

Misato winced. "What was Asuka doing in the hospital wing? Was she injured?"

Yui, who was leaning over a console at the moment and making notes, said, "Minor concern during a synchronization test the other night. Nothing serious."

"Okay…" Misato looked at the monitor, "Have the Evangelions ready to go as soon as possible. I want Asuka on point, and Evangelion 01 on support duties. No sense putting a trainee in the line of fire, especially if he isn't any good with a gun in the first place. Let Asuka pick her weapon and have Shinji kitted out with a pallet rifle."

Misato tilted her head then added, half to herself, "At least the bright flash and near-misses will hopefully divert the thing's attention."

* * *

Asuka had already changed into her plug suit when she arrived at the cages, striding calmly to the pilot chair. Her hurrying wouldn't speed the process of getting the rest of the Evangelion ready. The plug closed around her, rammed into her Red Evangelion, and the LCL filled the tube.

She wouldn't know of course, but her opinion of the startup was quite opposite to Shinji's. She thought the marvel of breathing LCL was something to witness and experience. She was an avid swimmer, and wished she could breathe underwater like she could breathe LCL. The density being what it was though, she'd fall as fast through LCL as she would through air.

Ah we-

English phrases flashed into existence over her chest. Again, unlike Shinji, Asuka was fluent in the language given her ancestry. She read the text and it gave her pause. She was told not to take the 'startup gibberish' seriously before, since it was likely a random prank played by one of the early programmers of the software. But sometimes, like now, the text was eerie in what it said. Before she could reflect on this the lettering winked out.

A window suddenly opened off to her side to show the face of Her Mother.

"Your synchronization rate is holding at 36%, Second Child. I thought we were past this little problem." she toned.

Asuka did not rise to her mother's criticism, only stared ahead and responded; "Evangelion 02 is within functional limits. I, and the unit, are Battle Ready."

She didn't look at her mother but felt the stare of the Pilot Maintenance manager. "Don't embarrass yourself this time." Kyoko grunted, then signed off. Asuka breathed a sigh of relief and then leaned back into the couch.

Another battle. Another angel. Another opportunity.

She had gone over, many times, her embarrassing flukes and failures during the last sortie. Her mother's ribbing had been only the compliment to the self-torture she had subjected herself too. Loosing a hand in battle was not something she would forget quickly or easily, and she was hoping this angel didn't come with some trick. She had to stop it.

If this angel was like the last one…

She willed up a menu of the Evangelion's possible armaments. It was for ease of calling something out for the technicians from the armory to send. Hugging her knees to her chest, Asuka examined the possible armaments she could have wanted for this particular battle. If this was like the last time…

There. That one.

She let her legs fold out again and grasped the butterfly handles. When they asked, Asuka would say she wanted the Magoroku Exterminate Sword.

* * *

There was a full moon rising over the mountains when the Angel arrived in the airspace of Tokyo 03. The citizens had been evacuated to shelters and the city retracted into battle formation. This was a long and irritable process, since it was supposed to be time for bed.

Nobody said Angel attacks were on a schedule though.

By the time preparations were complete and the Evangelions were ready for launch, it was already passing over the lake. This particular angel was much different from the rest and not just in shape. Unlike the third, it floated over the sky. Unlike the forth, it was one solid form. The Fifth angel appeared as an octahedron, a floating shape of two pyramids mated together at their largest sides. In the moonlight it appeared semi-opaque but the bottom glowed with a pattern as if the whole thing was made of water.

Anyone foolish enough to be in the city would have heard a soft wailing from the thing as it advanced. Anyone listening too long, however, would have discerned those wails as screams of torment.

Sound wasn't projected into the Command center of NERV though, just the vision. The image enhancement display was active for the cameras, outlining the form of the Angel in red with target information following it.

"All right," Misato suggested, "Let's give the new armaments a try."

Unavailable for the past two battles, the city's natural defense system was a battery of conventional weapons. Tokyo-03 was supposed to be called the Last Fortress of Mankind, and tonight it would prove it. In the hills surrounding the city, shutters opened to expose hundreds of rocket tubes. As one, they fired.

It was a brilliant display in the night sky as all eight launchers vomited their payloads at the advancing alien. In the night, with the smoke and the fire, it was as if large streams of liquid fire had erupted from the ground and poured on to the Angel. Fire, smoke, and light surrounded the floating octahedron and obscured it completely.

But that wasn't all. From what looked like office buildings, four rockets the size of a mercury-redstone rocket booster erupted into the sky. Eight copies of this structure disgorged their payloads, and the massive missiles with huge conventional warheads landed right on target.

In addition to this, rows and rows of 45cal ex-naval guns let loose with their own rain of bullets, shooting more streams of gold into the advancing form.

To anyone taking count, this was six times the conventional firepower thrown at the third angel when it first appeared, aside from the N2 mine of course.

"Cease fire." Misato ordered as the ball of smoke surrounding the target was reaching almost half a mile in diameter.

The torrent of destructive force abruptly ceased, and around the valley containing Tokyo-03 the echo resounded for a good six seconds before silence fell again.

…except the soft wailing.

Piercing through the clouds, the reflective diamond-sided edge of the octahedral angel emerged from the smoke… completely unscathed.

"Well," Fuyutsuki commented from above, "That was a spectacular waste of taxpayer money…"

Misato chose to ignore the comment and turned to Yui. "Were the laser cannons made operational?"

Ritsuko, now on the bridge with Kyoko, answered from her station; "The lasers have not been delivered yet."

Misato huffed something under her breath. "Okay, I guess it's up to Eva. Prepare to launch both units to either sides of the target- exits 14 and 22."

"Yes ma'am!" The operators chorused.

Misato put her hands on her hips, "Let's hope the thing has paper for resilience without its AT field."

* * *

Shinji had been waiting in the Evangelion with tension heavy on his shoulders. Before Ritsuko left, she had shown Shinji how to access the tactical net from his Evangelion. New windows were open in the cockpit now, showing the situation and the image of their enemy.

The target was oddly serene… and alien. Shinji had heard the term 'menacing geometry' thrown around in his last school, and thought it was some kind of adage against Math. Now he had a better understanding of the term- this thing was oddly unnatural. It seemed _too_ perfect to be anything made by either man or nature. The fact that it withstood a barrage of more firepower than Shinji ever saw anywhere (even on TV) only reinforced that opinion.

When the Evangelion around him shuddered and started to move, he closed all the floating windows and looked outside the cockpit.

The Evangelion was being moved backwards. Shinji willed open a new window to look behind him and saw the long rails going up into the ceiling. Tilting his window, he could see that it lead up a shaft.

"E-Elevators…?" He asked, half to himself, and then saw a splash of red to his right. He looked.

It was another Evangelion unit. Like Eva 00, this one was different from his own… machine… through a number of factors. It also had the shoulder plates, but the front ends were different. The body armor seemed a little different also, aside from the color, with more segments. Finally the head was also changed, more of a slim-snout model with four eyes with an exaggerated chin and no clear lip-line as his unit was.

That must be…

He willed the window open. "Asuka!"

For a few seconds, the plate read SOUND ONLY. Then it flickered and the image of Asuka in her plug suit appeared. Shinji smiled. "You're okay!"

Asuka turned her head. "It was nothing serious, Shinji."

"Even so," Shinji said. He wanted to say more, but thunder announced the unit coming to a halt against the back wall. Shinji looked up.

The vision there showed doors opening up progressively into infinity. He swallowed. It looked like a long way up.

Another window popped open- this time displaying the face of a woman with lavender hair and a red beret. The caption underneath it read NERV TACTICAL COMMAND. "Okay kids, it's up to you. Asuka, you'll be leading the charge against the target. We haven't found the core yet, but we're guessing it's somewhere inside. If you take down its AT field, we'll give it another barrage with the city defenses. Shinji?"

"U-Uhm…" He swallowed, "Yes?"

"This is your first time in combat, so I want you to take it easy. Just aim your pallet rifle at the enemy, shoot, then take cover. If you can, switch cover between buildings, but your job is to make sure it's distracted so that Asuka can finish it off. Understand?"

"I-I guess… U-uhm… how will I see it in the dark?"

"Use your image enhancement." She replied, just as Shinji was thinking about that system. Colored outlines appeared around everything through his Heads-up display. The woman went on, "I want you to keep your distance. Let Asuka do the fighting. Just make sure it's busy trying to deal with both of you at the same time."

"O-Okay…" he said, looking down. A pallet rifle had just finished locking on to his scaffolding. A glance over at Asuka's unit showed that it had a pair of swords attached to hers- likely some kind of oversized, hi-tech Katana and Wakizashi.

"You'll be launching in five seconds." The woman said, then her window winked out.

Shinji looked to Asuka.

"Good luck, Shinji." She said.

Shinji smiled. "Thank-"

Then suddenly the whole unit rocketed upward.

Trying to be a man, Shinji tried kept his voice inside. It didn't work, and he screamed on the way up.

* * *

"They're on their way…" Maya announced over the reduced wailing of the pilots' audio feeds.

"Bait?" Yui asked to Misato.

Misato sighed. "I don't want to think of him that way, but really, if I can't trust him in close combat, fire support is the only thing I can do for him. I'd rather give one of our fighting pilots a chance and risk both than have her out there all alone."

Behind them both, Ritsuko's eyes turned to Misato. Then she looked back at her console to monitor the Evangelion status.

It felt like something was amiss about this decision, but Ritsuko couldn't argue with Misato's logic. Yet… why did she feel there was some problem with putting Shinji in plain sight?

"H-High energy reaction detected in the target!" Aoba suddenly announced, breaking Ritsuko out of her stupor. She looked at the monitor showing the Angel's status and indeed, a torus of energy was building up in the center of the octahedron.

"What!?" Misato had blasted.

Aoba continued, "It's accelerating and massing in on itself!"

The scientists looked up.

"Asuka!" Misato shrilled.

* * *

In the night sky, the octahedron had come to a halt just before reaching the cost. Suddenly it… split. The top and bottom halves spiraled away from each other and changed geometry. Triangular faces seemed to bloom into existence, shrinking their parents, and before long the whole thing became an incoherent mass of triangular shapes. All of them had that watery glow while reflecting the moonlight though.

And only a few saw the tiny red spheroid at the exact center of the assembly. Naked only for a moment, it started to brighten until there was a flare of light brighter than the sun.

Tokyo-03 was bathed in daylight, suddenly, for a second as a brilliant beam lanced out from the core of the Angel. It was as thick as a minivan, but the power behind it was evident when it went through six buildings…

To penetrate a seventh, which was the elevator building for shaft 14.

Not by coincidence, the beam erupted the second after Asuka's inertia was zero on her scaffold. The beam went through the reinforced armor like it wasn't even there and burned into the back of her Evangelion.

Asuka's scream erupted anew; feeling like a power drill had been pressed to her back and put on full power. The bright beam was cutting through one of the scapula plates.

Her screaming was so loud, so unexpected, that most of the bridge staff cringed. Misato turned sharply. "Is the AT field even up!?"

"AT Field is on maximum… but…" Maya shook her head as the display for Evangelion 02 was showing a yellow dot rapidly becoming red against the green outline.

Ritsuko picked up, "AT field penetration is 100% Showing increasing degradation of the unit's back armor! If this keeps up-"

"GET HER OUT OF THERE!" Misato blasted.

Bolts holding up the scaffold floor for Evangelion 02 blew up. The massive weight of the Evangelion, plus the scaffolding, shot down the tube. Blue siren lights flicked on as magnetic fields kicked in and grabbed the scaffold before its velocity became terminal. Secondaries re-engaged, and the Evangelion was rushed to the cages.

In the city, the angel's beam continued cutting through the pavement as if it was still locked on the Evangelion. Several office buildings and a number of cars suffered as a result.

Misato's mind was whirling at the possibilities. Then she remembered Evangelion 01. "Shin-" She started-

-but suddenly the beam flicked over to Evangelion 01. Shinji's shaft had put him down a main street in clear sight of the Angel, as the obvious decoy.

The restraints had just released Shinji when the beam struck him right in the chest.

Shinji had seen the beam when he arrived, and was getting ready to save Asuka. He had been preparing himself to let loose with the full clip into the Angel, hoping to get it's attention and duck behind some buildings. In the blink before the beam hit him, Shinji saw octagonal outlines flash into existence before his Evangelion before a power drill bored into his torso. He started screaming and tried to close his eyes from the brilliant light….

He screamed, and collapsed in the chair. Then… he noticed… the bright light was gone. He opened his eyes.

The shaft lights were blurring by at an incredible rate.

In the bridge, Ritsuko blinked in relief, then announced, "Evangelion 01 en-route to the cages. Damage is minimal."

"The target has gone silent!" Makoto announced.

There was a stunned silence on the bridge, as all of the members only looked at the massive Octahedron while it resumed its shape, silhouetted in the night sky.

* * *

In cage 02, yellow emergency sirens were spinning and the cage's full lighting ensemble had come on. As soon as the Evangelion was back under full restraints, emergency procedures were carried out. The hole the angel bore into the back of Evangelion unit 02 was gushing blood when it returned, and the cavity had to be filled with bakelite to stop the bleeding. Several internal organs were showing damage, and had the beam been sustained for ten more seconds, it may have penetrated the Evangelion altogether. Another two seconds and Asuka would have been dead.

The plug was ejected in a hasty manner, pulled away from the Evangelion and over another deck behind the Eva's back. There it was dropped, drained, and Asuka extracted. They had to re-start her heart with the defibrillators in her plug suit before she was rushed to the hospital.

She was still there. And it was in front of the doors to the operating room where Shinji waited; nearly a half-hour later with fists balled and leaning on his knees, staring at the doorway.

Ritsuko had brought him here.

The doctor had rushed down to the cages personally to see the damage to unit 02 and effect repairs. Shinji found her after she had gotten unit 02 stabilized, and wanted to know where Asuka was. Ritsuko had brought the boy here personally to the emergency ward. Shinji just sat in one of the waiting chairs and stared.

"Will she be all right?" He asked finally, after a long time.

"Probably." Ritsuko said, "NERV doctors are the best on the planet."

Shinji closed his eyes and grunted. Then he uttered, "Why… why did she have to get hurt??" He looked up at her, "What was that thing?!"

Ritsuko blinked in her level stare at Shinji. She closed her eyes and sighed. "That's right, we never got around to telling you. Combat came up so fast…" She opened her eyes and looked at Shinji again. "Shinji, what I'm about to tell you is classified. Do you understand?"

"I-I can't tell anyone." Shinji replied.

"Yes. Not anyone outside the base, at any rate." Ritsuko leaned up against the wall. "What you saw, up there, is what the Evangelions were constructed for to fight. We call that thing that attacked us an Angel."

"A-Angel?" Shinji repeated. He slid in his chair to face Ritsuko, "B-But I thought Angels were good things, with wings and haloes… and they helped people."

"Well, your father, mother, and our superiors call them Angels. They don't tell us the reason." Ritsuko brushed a bang out of her hair, and then returned the hand to her coat pocket, "Whatever the case… we have to stop them from reaching the center of the Geofront. This is the reason why we must destroy them."

"W-What happens if they get there?"

"Then every living creature on this planet will die."

Shinji stopped to consider the scale of what she was suggesting. Every living creature. "You mean… People?"

"Everything Shinji. From people, to animals, to the very blades of grass on our front lawns and the microbes crawling in the soil, everything will die." She looked away, "You see, the Geofront isn't a natural formation. They say that in the textbooks to help people working on this place believe it was true. This Geofront was found here in early 2000s when they were working to expand the Hakone artificial evolutionary labs underground.

"When we measured the dust of this place, it went back billions of years ago. This structure, whatever it is, reaches back to the beginnings of biological life on Earth. Some believe that this is 'the ark' which introduced life as we know it to this planet."

She looked at Shinji. "Are you with me so far?"

"I think so… but… what about the angels?"

"I'm getting to that. You remember the second impact?"

Shinji grunted, thinking of the old man and his stupid childhood stories. That thought came out when he grunted, "Yes."

"That was mankind's first contact with an angel."

Shinji looked up. "B-But wasn't it a meteor?"

"Another cover story. The Katsuragi expedition located the first angel there. It was the first form of life so fundamentally different from our own that it was judged to be an extraterrestrial. But something went wrong, and to stop the angel from escaping, they had a contingency plan."

"So that's…"

"Yes."

"But… how does that have anything to do with the Geofront?"

Ritsuko blinked and looked down at Shinji. "We think that these aliens, whatever they are, are trying to get back to the ark to undo all life on this planet. They have tremendous powers, as you saw. They seem to be universally drawn to this place which has an energy of its own. Our guess is that they want to tamper with all life as we know it in this place, so, we must prevent them from ever reaching it."

Shinji was staring at the floor.

"Do you understand, Shinji?"

Shinji blinked. "We have to stop them… because if they come here… they can… destroy all life."

"Pretty much."

"But that's crazy!" Shinji looked up, "How can I believe you?"

"You accepted the existence of Evangelion easily enough."

Shinji gulped.

"You accepted that the Angel was floating in midair without any hesitation. You accept LCL, and all the other outlandish things here." She shrugged. Then, after a pause, she went on, "We ask that you have the same acceptance for this as you do for the reason we fight."

"But it's crazy!" Shinji looked away.

"Crazy or not, it's what we have to do." Ritsuko said. Feeling it was going to be that kind of night, she fumbled for a cigarette. Strangely, her normal coat pocket was empty. She let the hand rest there, sighed, and then took a moment before saying, "We will want you to pilot the Eva again, Shinji."

"W-What!? B-But… you saw what it did to Asuka!"

"Obviously we'll have a plan before then, and we won't send you out there to die." Ritsuko said, "But Evangelion is our only defense, and we would like you to pilot it again for us."

Shinji looked away from her, swallowing. He slowly curled into a ball, bringing his legs up on to the seat and hugging them to his chest. "E-Ever since I c-came here… it was o-on-on" He swallowed, "One thing after the other, giant robots and monsters and…" He swallowed again, "H-How much more? I didn't want any of this… I just wanted a normal life! I wanted to know my father and my mother again and hear them tell me why they left me behind! N-Now I-I'm just a t-to-tool to everyone!"

Ritsuko looked at the boy, remembering his first synchronization test, days ago. The words he shouted, audible to everyone, returned to her.

Her eyes softened a little and she looked at the ground. "You're selling yourself short, Shinji."

His eyelids cracked open.

"In the few days you've been here, can you call your existence that simple? You've had dinner with Asuka, you've found a way to fit in at school, and you've even made some friends around the base. Certainly Maya wouldn't hesitate to call you friend, and I'm sure Asuka wouldn't either."

She leaned up off the wall and crossed to him, "But as much as she would appreciate you staying here and keeping vigil for her all night, I think even she would agree you need to get some rest. Come, I'll take you to someplace you can catch some sleep."

"I'm not tired." Shinji grunted behind his knees.

"Be that as it may, you won't accomplish anything sitting here staring at the doorway, and it's already midnight."

Shinji blinked. He didn't feel tired, but he had no energy to do anything either. He stood up. "O-Okay…"

He followed Ritsuko through more of the base, and with every step he seemed to get more and more tired. By the time he reached Dr. Akagi's office and took to the cot, he was ready to pass out.

The moment after Ritsuko clicked off the lights, she stopped. What was she doing?

Through the crack in the doorway she looked at Shinji's sleeping body on her cot, at the back of the office through the cubical walls. Slowly, she closed the door.

Doctor Ritsuko Akagi remained there for a moment before turning and starting for the elevator down the hall. In her mind she imagined the little cats on her desk, staring at her. It was the final gift from her mother, before the… accident. Those same cats were looking at Shinji now, no doubt.

Ritsuko entered the elevator quietly. It was not the silence of an absence of words, but the silence of when there was no answer to an accusation.

* * *

"You're late." Kyoko toned as Ritsuko entered the briefing room. Dr. Akagi made no comment as she made her way to the chair opposite of Misato and took a seat. Maya, already seated, leaned over to get her up to speed on what was going on.

The light table was cluttered with papers. Largest of all was a map of Tokyo-03, over which was a small holographic model of the angel. A red outline had also appeared, blanketing the airspace over Tokyo-03 and presumably denoting the angel's range of attack. Other papers, noting figures, distances, and measurements were cluttered around this map and unimportant. Several cups of coffee were also placed around the table, and many of them were empty.

Makoto, standing, was speaking. "The drill bit it has extended has already penetrated the 2nd layer of armor. At the rate it is proceeding, it should have penetrated the 27th layer and entered the geofront around 7pm tomorrow evening."

Misato scratched her face and asked, "Wasn't the armor a composite?"

Maya, finished talking to Ritsuko, looked up over her laptop. "The angel's drill keeps changing its molecular properties as it cuts through the armor. We've seen density, weight, and even atomic mass continually fluctuate when it hits an armor plate. The good news is that it seems to be a random process- the angel isn't adapting to each layer so much as it's waiting for the drill to work against the armor."

"Changing…" Misato folded her hands again, "Completely variable geometry during its attack. What causes that?"

Ritsuko had an answer. "Were I to guess, I would suspect the physical changes are in concert with use of its overtly powerful AT field. Together, it can alter and expand the properties of the angel's blast. Like how the third angel developed energy projection after being struck by the N2 mine, this angel must continue to adapt physically to control its beam." She nodded to the model, "Obviously when it's at rest, the shape is an unremarkable octahedron."

"Anyone find the core yet?" Misato asked.

Makoto put his clipboard down, and another hologram of the angel appeared over it. A red spheroid was located inside the center of the angel model, shining bright red. "It's in the center, where we expect it to be. However…"

The Angel model altered its geometry into the attack position seen earlier. The smaller model, over Tokyo-03, mimicked the result.

"But it continually changes places during its attack." Makoto stated, and accordingly, the model flicked to different other configurations. "CORE" appeared in holographic letters and red lines pointed to the locations on each configuration. "At most, we've counted five separate cores. The configurations could be endless… however, it is worth noting that in all configurations, mass of the core remains the same."

"Meaning the same core," Misato reasoned, "But separated…." She sighed angrily and scratched the back of her scalp, "this means it'll be tricky if we have to hit it when the cores are split."

Mutters and soft groans echoed around the planning table. Aside from 100% vaporization, destruction of the core was the only known way to defeat an Angel. It was responsible for the defeat of the last two angels, and had been the guiding strategy of NERV up until now.

"First things first though." Misato said as she folded her hands back together, "We have to GET to the core. Does anyone have a reading on how strong the thing's AT field is?"

Ritsuko spoke, "One doesn't measure the strength of an AT Field, Lieutenant Colonel. We can only tell if it exists or not. From our experiments conducted after the recovery of the Evangelions over the night, we've estimated the Angel's AT field can withstand anywhere from two to twelve kilotons of explosive force at once."

Aoba, in awe, voiced, "So all that firepower we threw at it earlier…"

Maya spoke, "At 12:47am, Doctor Ikari authorized the firing of a Type 12 rail-mounted mortar at the target with a Mark IV explosive warhead."

Four holographic display windows opened over the table. Three freight engines were needed to move the mortar into position. Time had been compressed, showing things in fast motion as the mortar locked itself down with grounding anchors. It returned to normal to show the mortar fire.

Light bloomed in the hills for a second and the white-hot streak of a projectile the size of a commuter bus flew through the air… before brilliant octagonal shapes flashed into harsh existence before the angel. The image froze, and details were pointed out by yellow lines to specific points. On the table, the same motion had been repeated in miniature, but lines displayed the projectile's flight path, and the location of the mortar.

"We arrived at our estimate," Ritsuko said, "through measuring the explosive force and velocity of the projectile, matched against penetration in the AT field and size of the final blast. So far, it is the most powerful AT Field we've encountered yet."

The details vanished, and the image played out. The octagonal lines faded away.

"Of course," Ritsuko continued, "We also figured out how far the Angel will retaliate."

The angel folded again like an origami construction and seconds later, an aperture that looked like a paper fortune-teller was surrounding the flashbulb effect from the core.

Another view showed the solid sphere of destruction in the hills… and the resulting fifty-meter crater. They could all see the yellow spheroid on the map… looking just as big as a city block in Tokyo-03.

More mutters echoed around the table.

Misato stared at the little icon of the angel hovering over the map. "Can the Evas still neutralize that field?"

"Even if they could," Ritusko replied, "They'd be well within attack range of the Angel before they could begin any kind of operation. We have no shielding that could protect them for that long, either."

Misato sighed and leaned back, puzzling over the situation. After a moment she finally asked, "If we can't erode it with another AT field, how else can we punch through it?"

The staff around the table didn't answer, only looked in various directions sheepishly.

Ritsuko closed her eyes, then said, "Nobody has ever actually made any _tests_ to defeat an active AT field. Until the angels arrived, surpassing an AT field was largely theoretical."

Misato didn't look away from the angel model. "Yes, or no?"

Ritsuko went on, "An AT Field is a metaphysical barrier beyond conventional science. As I said, outside of eroding one with another AT field, puncturing it is largely theoretical. We couldn't even begin to test any of them without needing specific equipment that doesn't exist yet."

"And MAGI has no solution?"

Maya looked up. "MAGI has no conclusions yet, given the variables…"

"Well," Misato said, turning her head to look down the table, "Didn't someone say something about Evangelion 01's AT field appearing or something?"

A thought suddenly struck Ritsuko and she turned her head. Maya, in synch, turned the laptop monitor to show discriminate video feed on Unit 01. As the image was completely digital, Maya tapped the minus key on her laptop to slow down the playback. The milliseconds crawled by…then…

"That wasn't neutralization…." Ritsuko slowly sounded out, studying the harsh yellow octagon lines visible in front of Evangelion 01 "It was-"

"-High energy Penetration." A new voice completed, and all heads turned. Yui Ikari had just come in with several large rolls of paper under her arm. She made her way to the table, saying, "The AT Field, although abnormally strong, can in fact be defeated by direct application of energy greater than the field can withstand. It's only a matter of overpowering this field."

Maya protested, "B-But… the levels measured in this angels' AT field are phenomenal! Outside of an N2 mine, where are we going to find anything that can project that much force?!"

Ritsuko backed her up, "Nothing in our inventory can project raw power that can overpower this field." She tapped on her own laptop, projecting a model of a Positron Rifle Prototype- type 20. "The closest we come is the 20th prototype positron rifle, and even that can only put out 1.5 megatons of power in a given burst. Only clustered N2 weapons seem to be the answer."

Yui smiled. "There is another alternative." She flung out the rolled sheets under her arm and over the table. They passed through the holograms of the angels, splintering them, before landing on the table. All stood in the room to see just what it was, even as a hologramatic translation of the blueprint materialized, in 3D, over the table.

"What is this?" Misato asked, looking at the construction.

Yui was grinning. "This is a prototype ground-emplacement anti-satellite directed energy weapon… the origins of our current positron technology. Although the Berlin accords rendered the weapon illegal, the JDSF never scrapped the prototype and it is currently in storage."

Ritsuko's eyes danced on the specifications that were contained in a box off to the side. Her eyes widened. The power requirements, and projected power output, were staggering. It needed the total power of several provinces to fire, if not power from the whole country. Certainly nothing NERV's five nuclear power plants could produce alone.

When considering the projected output, Ritsuko wondered if this weapon was intended more for use against targets _on the moon_ instead of in orbit. She looked at Misato.

NERV's tactical director looked like a kid in a candy store.

* * *

Overhead, the Angel was slowly turning like a dreidel. It's lowermost point was still spinning, boring through the armored layers that separated the city from the Geofront below.

Morning was showing over the hilltops. The day was breaking.

The citizens, in their shelters, were slowly being evacuated by this time. The early stages of Operation Yashima (as Misato had called it) weren't exactly clear on a number of factors. There was still a chance that the city would suffer damage… and in the worst case… the JDSF would drop half it's stockpile of N2 mines on to the Angel to defeat it. True, there was the chance that the angel would destroy them all… at least, the first wave. But desperation made allowances for such plans.

In the underground, Shinji Ikari stirred slowly. He yawned, and then sat up on the cot. He felt sticky, and then realized he had dried LCL on his face. He grunted.

"Awake?" A voice asked. Shinji turned his head.

Doctor Akagi was typing away on her computer.

"H-How long…"

"It's eight in the morning, Shinji."

"GAH! But I… I…."

Ritsuko stopped typing and swiveled her chair around to face Shinji. "You've been getting rest that you need- something the rest of us had to skip. We have a plan now, to defeat the Angel."

"We do?"

"Yes. Lieutenant-Colonel Katsuragi has called it Operation Yashima."

"Ya…shi…" Shinji sounded out, wondering where he had heard that name before. He dismissed it. "What happens?"

"Basically," She said, "You will be shooting one of the most powerful weapons of mankind at the Angel, from across the lake."

"I…What?" Shinji asked when the implications hit home.

Ritsuko shrugged. "It seems to be the only way."

Shinji looked down. "But… I don't know how to fire a gun! I don't…I…."

Ritsuko smiled. "Then we'll train you."

Shinji looked up to see Ritsuko's smile. The woman continued, "You don't necessarily need your Evas for everything, Shinji. We have simulation bodies set aside for testing and training purposes. Maya's already programmed one of them to give you some experience on the target system. The weapon itself hasn't been built yet, and we don't have time to give you live shooting lessons, but I figure it's better than being out there without knowing what you'll expect."

Shinji blinked at her, then looked at the ground.

"Is this all right?" Ritsuko asked, a touch of softness in her tone.

Shinji's hand squirmed in his lap. "C-Co-Could I do it?"

"I think so."

Shinji looked up. "You do?"

Ritsuko smiled again. "Of course."

Hope gleamed in Shinji's mind, but his own skepticism snuffed it out. "W-What makes you say that?"

"Because you've come to learn Evangelion in only three days," She said, "Far sooner than the other two pilots. If you can do that, I'm confident you can learn how to defeat this angel."

Shinji swallowed, then put his hands on his knees. "O-Okay…."

Ritsuko half-turned back to her desk. "Asuka's been cleared out of the hospital."

"R-Really!?"

"She's in observation now, but she's conscious and alive."

"C-Ca…" Shinji swallowed, "Can I see her?"

"No."

Shinji stopped halfway to standing. "W-Why not?"

"Not like that. Shower first. You reek of LCL and I'm guessing you're feeling sticky." Ritsuko turned back to her computer now, but pointed to the door. "Turn right down the hall and keep going until you see the men's room. There's a chemical shower on this level, but it'll suffice. Change back into your plugsuit when you're done, you'll be needing it soon anyway."

"A-And after?"

"I'll take you to the medical wing. It's not far from some offices I need to visit, anyway."

"T-Thanks!" Shinji beamed then hurried out of the office. Ritsuko heard his hurried footfalls disappear down the hallway.

She had stopped typing, and her eyes slowly slid to the photograph. She lingered on it for a long moment. Then she closed her eyes, paused, and then started typing again, slowly, and then increasing gradually.

The sets of eyes in the photograph continued to stare.

* * *

If one were to know the entirety of NERV, one would think it was the repository of all the world's secrets. This wasn't so: Earth had plenty of other places where mankind had buried wondrous, terrible artifacts.

The Prototype Positron-Helix Amplification of Stimulated Energy and Radiation -cannon had been locked away in a vault at mount Tsubakuro.

Misato had to do a double take on the acronym for the weapon. "Are you serious?" She asked Yui Ikari.

"Quite." Replied Yui, smirking a little, "Remember, it was the JDSF who came up with the terminology."

"Was that before, or after they had a write-in campaign for someone out there to classify it?"

The two women were walking towards the heavy drab-green doors. Already, uniformed Japanese self-defense Force officers were waiting for them. It was the early morning miles away from NERV and the sun was just coming up on the horizon to the east.

The scientists that had accompanied the Lieutenant looked cold and uncomfortable. Misato wondered if there was any fact to the rumor that the Scientific Community of the world through NERV was a Mecca for junk science. They looked uncomfortable enough to suggest that they resented putting such a powerful weapon in the hands of a fringe scientific group.

"Doctor Ikari," The Lieutenant had said, "Lieutenant-Colonel," he shook their hands, "Welcome to the dark closet of the JDSF. I assume you have the authorization papers?"

Misato held them up with a smile.

"I…see…" Some of the man's enthusiasm deflated. He turned to Yui. "Very well. In this cache is the only existing test prototype version of the Positron Helix Amplification of Stimulated Energy and-"

"You can call it a PHASER," Yui said, crossing her arms, "Really."

Misato sighed and looked at the heavens.

The Lieutenant cleared his throat, then went on, "The PHASER. It is of course, dismantled. Also, I'm sure I don't need to remind you that this weapon was never fired or brought up to full power…"

"Wait," Misato asked, looking at the lieutenant, Yui, and then back at the lieutenant again while saying, "Built but never fired? I thought it was tested!"

"Well yes," The Lieutenant said as he worked the door, "It was tested to the point of construction." The doors beeped and the machine opened.

Misato was just agape at the notion as the door parted. Her astonishment diminished none even as light played over the boxes within the vault. If anything, her bewilderment to the whole situation was oddly augmented by the logo the design team had used for the PHASER.

"So… we have a weapon that might not even fire?"

"Come come, Lieutenant Colonel," Yui said, "You're were so optimistic about this plan."

"That was BEFORE I learned that the PHASER was never FIRED!" Misato yelled.

"But," Yui said as she signed off a clipboard the lieutenant handed her, "It isn't as if we have any alternative, do we?"


	6. Sniper

VI

SNIPER

The 'hospital', Shinji discovered, wasn't so much a facility as it was an entire region of the base. While the treatment and recovery ward was on the ground level of the Geofront, the Intensive care areas were actually just underneath them. This was where Asuka had been taken for emergency care.

But now, she was in the recovery ward in that building on the ground level. Even though the city was still under siege by the angel, slowly boring it's way down through the armored plates; sunlight still came down through the overhead windows and bathed the park-like indoor space with beams of light.

This, combined with the extensive greenery of the Geofront, created a serene and pleasant landscape that Shinji felt relaxing to sit and observe. Maybe that's why the recovery ward was up here.

Then, he remembered, somewhere above him a terrible monster was drilling its way down here… to kill them.

He turned away from the scenery and looked at Asuka. The girl had a number of books open over her bed, and on her lap was a laptop on loan from the hospital. Ever since she was cleared and put in observation she had been working on her essay. She was done by the time Shinji visited her. Her essay, finished and revised (though not completely polished) had been sent out just a half-hour before.

But when Shinji came in and saw her for that first second, he saw that expression again. He still couldn't define it… it wasn't pity, or sadness, or relief or disgust. It was something… odd…

…but whatever it was, it made him want to be with her. To make sure she was all right.

Ever since he took the seat though, the expression had not reappeared. She wore an impassive mask as he sat next to her, donned in his plug suit while she had her battery of schoolwork on her lap.

"S-So…" Shinji started after a long period of silence, "Y-You're really okay?"

"Yes," She replied without looking up, and added in a lower tone, "Though… I haven't been cleared for action."

Shinji looked at the ground. "Yo-Your Eva has a hole in it."

Asuka didn't answer immediately. "How big?" She asked, after a moment of typing.

"I dun…dunno…" Shinji took in a breath, "Just… Just big. They… ah… D-Doctor Akagi said another two seconds…and… and…"

"I would be dead."

Shinji didn't want to say that part.

She leaned back into her pillow and smiled. "Well, at least I wouldn't have a paper to worry about if that happened."

Shinji fidgeted. He didn't want to see Asuka die. He didn't find the humor in her joking about it. He looked at the ground and left that particular thing unsaid. He started with something else. "T-The tactical director lady said we have a plan to kill the…" he swallowed, "the angel…" he didn't like using that word.

"We should by now." Asuka said, "At least, if Misato wants to keep her job." Asuka looked up from the laptop finally at Shinji, "Nothing about me in the plan?"

"I-I don't know…" Shinji replied, "They're still working on your Eva…"

"…I see." Asuka replied and relaxed a little on the bed. She turned back to the laptop.

Shinji looked around at the room, seeking a topic to discuss. He was happy Asuka was all right, and happy he could see her… but… it seemed as if she didn't want his company. 'U-uhm…" He started again, "I-I'm happy to see that you're all right."

"So you've said."

Shinji swallowed, kicking himself. "I-I mean… I'm really…" He sighed, defeated.

Asuka stopped typing. "Shinji… why did you come here?"

Shinji looked up. She hadn't turned to face him, just remained staring at the screen. He didn't know what she was asking. He looked away. "I-I wanted to make sure you were all right. I-I even asked Doctor Akagi to take me here… when I heard… you were hurt. But she made me get some sleep…"

Asuka didn't say anything for a moment, then said half-heartedly, "Very wise of her…"

There was a knock on the door. Shinji looked up to see Ritsuko through the crack. She held up three fingers- three more minutes. Then she closed the door.

"That Doctor Akagi?"

"Yes. I-I have a few more minutes, then I have to go."

"I see."

There was a silence for another moment.

Shinji swallowed his nervousness and stood suddenly. "Asuka…"

She turned to him.

Shinji didn't know why he had stood, or what he had intended to say. Maybe it was following an impulse… he had done it before. Now on the spotlight, he swallowed… and the words evaded him. He lowered his head. "I… I guess I'll stop bothering you."

He started for the door, and turned the handle when he heard her say softly, "Shinji?"

He paused.

"Thank you for coming to visit me."

He turned.

She wasn't looking up, but she wasn't typing either. He half turned to her but she shook her head, turning it away. His jaw went slack, but she didn't look at him again. Closing his mouth, he turned around and went through the door. He closed it behind him.

Asuka listened for a moment, head turned away still while footsteps vanished down the corridor. Then she faced at her laptop with a dark expression. She closed it, and took hold of it to remove it from her lap and put it on the chair Shinji vacated. The landing wasn't entirely gentle.

A book fell off her bed and landed on the hospital floor.

Anger flashed in Asuka's eyes, and she turned to sweep the other books off the bed. Most of them clattered to the far side, open, closed, landed in awkward angles.

Anger was backed up in Asuka's veins, along the sides of her face and in her eyes. Suddenly a flash of fear twitched in her eyes when she realized what would happen if…

But she couldn't move. The doctors wouldn't have it.

She sighed with a mixture of anger and sadness. As she pulled the covers up over her, she tried to figure out what she would tell her Mother when she returned. She was tired. Yes, that's it. Sudden weariness and the books fell when she tried to move them.

Asuka closed her eyes and convinced herself that was the story. At least any ranting her mother could give her wouldn't involve Shinji this time, since she did the right things. Eventually, Asuka's consciousness finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Misato tried to catch some sleep on the way back to Tokyo-03, but of course, it wouldn't come. On the flight back she instead utilized the time to check up on all phases of the plan. A glance back down the seats of the plane showed Yui, still awake, and likely on her computer. Misato never knew the woman to be at rest- always working on something. Well, Misato figured, being the head of NERV sciences would create that illusion. At least Ritsuko seemed normal by comparison.

Misato paged through her inbox on her laptop. Ritsuko had sent some reports during the night on the progress of Evangelion 00's restoration to combat status. It was by no means approved for full-scale combat, but at least the final refits to the Eva would make it capable for a support position. Evangelion 01's armor had been fully repaired, and Unit 02 was moved out of critical. Still, given the extent of the damages to the unit's back musculature and internal organs, Eva unit 02 couldn't even manage the most basic of support duties in the operation.

She certainly wouldn't be sniping. Asuka was right handed.

On the matter of the pilots… things could be a lot better. The plan rested on Shinji. His was the highest synchronization scores of any of the pilots with their assigned Evangelions, and this operation demanded delicate and precise control. The kid, however, was a completely inexperienced. At least Asuka had _some_ combat training when becoming an Evangelion pilot. Shinji had never fired a weapon before.

It gave Misato at least some measure of comfort to learn that Ritsuko had prepared some simulator trials for the boy while everything else was going on. She hoped it would be enough to prevent Shinji from screwing up too badly.

Wondering just how inexperienced the kid was, she pulled up the boy's personnel files. Shinji Ikari. Age…

Wait.

Misato's thought processes stopped for a while and she turned to look back at Yui Ikari. The woman didn't look up from her laptop through the five or so seconds Misato stared at her. Slowly, Misato looked back at her laptop.

The family resemblance was there. Indeed, Shinji's file deliberately stated who his parents were. Misato just… never made the connection before now. Why was that?

Of course. She hadn't seen the boy on the base before. Not even when _she_ first arrived here, months before any of the Angels appeared. In fact, Shinji wasn't even _mentioned_ until she received the reports while on leave.

Why was… well… she could understand if Shinji's parents wanted him out of the way for this, not wanting their only son to face the horrors of combat. Yet, Yui didn't seem to raise any protest when Misato used… no… _had no alternative_ to use the boy as a decoy in the last battle. Nor did she seem particularly worried or concerned about Shinji-

A notice popped up on her laptop, jarring her thoughts back to the matter at hand. It was Makoto on videophone. Misato wiped her thumb over her laptop's web-cam and authorized the transmission with her personal key-code.

Makoto's face appeared with a warehouse wall in the background. "Lieutenant-Colonel," He was saying through the laptop's tiny speakers, "I've looked at the specifications for… for the PHASER," even _he_ was having problems with the name, "And Doctor Akagi's presumptions were correct- we can't use NERV's reactors alone for the power. We'd need at least…" he named a massive figure.

Misato shook her head a little. She didn't know how Yui Ikari had pulled on the JDSF to give them a top-secret Super weapon. It would be pushing their luck to ask all of Japan to give them the power they needed. "Could we boost the power somehow?"

"I asked. The engineers laughed at me."

"Couldn't we use the backup generators as well?"

"Lt. Colonel, I'm told we can't change the laws of physics. These nuclear reactors won't give us the power we need. Not even putting the Evas on batteries would be sufficient. The only way we're getting it, is if we use the nation's power grid."

Misato sighed. She glanced back at Yui Ikari again, wondering what the woman would say to _this_ proposition. "I'll talk with the bosses. Is there anything else?"

"The Wave-carrying positron branch of the technical division assured me, on their honor, that they'll have the weapon finished by noon."

Misato had seen the diagrams. It was a big, complex, weapon with many parts. "I hope they have a miracle worker somewhere on the team."

"Miracles?" Makoto laughed, "I thought NERV made its own miracles." He saluted and the feed cut out.

Misato was about to grab her laptop and move it to talk to Yui about this latest development, but then caught a trace of her earlier thought. Would she…?

Nah. It wasn't any of her business. Besides, Shinji was probably happier living away from the stressful lives of his parents. Maybe something to do with being too much of a distraction.

Something she understood well.

Shinji Ikari hesitated inside the control center to the test cage. "Uh…"

Beyond the glass of the control room was a large, armless torso and head. It seemed like a latex covered version of a paraplegic Evangelion 00. Cables were jutting out from the arm and leg sockets, but otherwise it seemed pretty clearly to be an incomplete, cybernetic Eva unit. To Shinji it was just as scary as his full-scale Evangelion, looking a lot more morbid from the naked cybernetics than an evil-looking mask.

But this wasn't the reason for his hesitance.

Ritsuko hadn't left yet, wanting to be there to get Shinji set up in the simulator. She looked at him when he hesitated. "Something wrong?"

"Well," Shinji said, then turned to her, "I… I was just wondering what's happening with everyone in the city. Are they all right?"

"When the city goes into a defensive posture," She explained, "The citizens are sent to heavy defensive shelters in the hills."

"O-oh…" Shinji said.

Ritsuko blinked with a small smile. "Are you worried about someone?"

"N-N…" Shinji started, but then looked over to Ritsuko's smile. He swallowed, and tried again, "T-The class rep… she's my friend and I…"

"What's her name?"

Shinji wondered if he should go through with this. She was all right, wasn't she? Or…

"Hikari Horaki." Shinji replied, "I just wanted to know if she's okay."

Ritsuko turned her head. "Maya?"

* * *

The shelters were in the middle of being evacuated. It was a tricky thing, so close to the angel, and it had to be done covertly. Fortunately most of the survival shelters were near the hills, away from the center of the city where the angel was drilling.

Most of them were also had connections to the subway. NERV technical teams had used the doors to get to the survivors inside, taking them one shelter by a time to safety outside the city boundaries.

But at one of them, a phone was ringing as the survivors were headed out. Someone grabbed the phone and called a name.

"Yes?" Someone near the doors replied, and she was allowed through the people to the green telephone. It was rare of for personal calls to be received on these emergency phones, but not totally unheard of.

Hikari Horaki took hold of the phone. "Hello?"

"H-Hikari?"

"Shinji! How did you get this phone?"

"I…I uh… asked. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine for now… they're moving us out of the shelter. Are you all right? Where are you?"

"S-Someplace safe. I… I just wanted to know if you were all right."

"Yeah, I'm fine. So's my sister. I don't know where they're taking us, but they said someplace safe. Hey! Do you think we can meet up when we get there?"

"I… I dunno… I don't know if I'll be able to see you for a while."

Hikari hesitated. What could he mean? "Shinji?"

"Hey!" Someone was calling. People were thinning to the exit.

"I have to go Shinji. I'll see you soon- don't forget your homework!"

"I won't… stay safe, Hikari."

She smiled, hung up, then hurried after the last of the refugees.

* * *

While the sun rolled overhead, the plan was slowly coming together.

At the southern end of Lake Ashinoko, several construction teams were busy ripping apart the landscape. Every watchful of the diamond slowly spinning in the distance, their job was to build the firing platform for the weapon and the huge power trucks that would be needed for the PHASER. This was no civilian project they could skimp on- the fate of the human race rested on this action. There were no shortcuts or frequent breaks.

Underneath in Hangar complex 47, the world's most powerful direct-fire weapon was being constructed. The Wave-Carrying Positron branch had press-ganged several other technical divisions into their fold for error checking while the weapon was under construction. Anyone not working on solving the nightmare of power management, or working on the Evangelions, was tasked for something to do with this weapon. Ritsuko herself, after seeing Shinji off at the simulator complex, went personally to oversee the PHASER being built.

The civilians of Tokyo-03 had been moved south. If this angel exploded like the third, nobody wanted to risk one of the shelters being destroyed with resulting casualties. Plus nobody was sure about the radiation bloom when the PHASER was fired. No-one wanted to find out that the angel was defeated at the cost of irradiating the population- the shelters were not designed to withstand all the radiation predicted to be coming out of the beam.

Shinji lost track of time in the simulation plug. After being walked through the system once, being shown what was what and how it worked, the rest was going through simulated shootings and the various contingency plans.

Firing the weapon was very simple. The computer corrected the minor problems for him, showing him where to point the weapon to hit the target dead center. He had been reminded, though; that the effects of firing the gun were simulated and might not represent how it really worked. The effects Shinji saw were a bright beam of light, and a spiky bloom surrounding it on the enhanced display. Apparently there was a reason why they were firing over the lake instead of from another direction- the radiation bloom was tremendous.

He had gone through the entire routine twice, from shooting prone to being forced to move the weapon manually, before he realized how hungry he was. As the simulation re-set, hunger suddenly seized him by the gullet. "Uh… Maya?" he asked, "Could we take a break? I'm really hungry…"

A window opened and Maya smiled. "Sure thing Shinji, you're doing great so far!"

"W-What time is it?"

"11:45."

* * *

At noon, Ritsuko Akagi was sipping at her coffee as she overlooked the massive weapon.

Construction was moving quickly and steadily. Most of the major components appear to have been completed- or were nearing stages of completion. Two large spheres, presumably acceleration tori, were connected by a center brace and a long barrel to comprise the weapon… at least according to the plans. Ritsuko at least hid her dissatisfaction at the weapon's 'test record' better than Misato had.

Makoto Hyuga had been assigned as project supervisor and was reporting to Ritsuko now. "The Barrel focus arrays were found to be cracked and degraded… we've had to construct spares… mostly from cannibalizing one of the type 20s we've got in storage."

"I caught something about materials issue in a report." Ritsuko said.

Makoto's shoulders slumped. "Until now Corbomite was an engineering fantasy. You can imagine everyone's surprise when they found out it actually exists."

Ritsuko's eyebrows jumped. "So then-"

"So then we can project a beam with the destructive potential of 50 megatons, if we had enough power." Makoto said, and gestured to the far end of the hangar, "See that large octagonal box over there?"

Ritsuko looked. Indeed, the shunt looked like it could comfortably contain five people standing. "Yes?"

"That's the power trunk needed to fire."

Ritsuko calculated the math. She blinked in surprise.

"As you know," Makoto said, "The width of that junction means how much power needs to be available. A common house plug is-"

"Like a grain of sand in comparison." Ritsuko said, turning to Makoto, "You weren't kidding about the power requirements."

Makoto smiled. "Fortunately the Lieutenant Colonel got back to me. It looks like we'll have the national power grid when we need it."

Ritsuko's eyes surveyed the weapon again, and she asked, "Estimated completion time?"

"At this rate- two hours. Two thirteen. We'll be testing it for another hour after that, an hour after _that_ for troubleshooting, and then delivery. Five… five thirty estimated delivery time."

The firing hour was seven. "Lots of back up time?"

Makoto smiled. "For a weapon that's never been fired before, we're being generous!"

* * *

After Shinji had peeled the plugsuit off to use the bathroom, he realized just how long he had been wearing the thing. As he pulled it back on after flushing the toilet, it suddenly struck him how… normal… he seemed to feel in it now. He didn't feel airy or uncomfortable, like he remembered when he first put it on. Ritsuko's words returned to him as he pushed the stall door open and left the bathroom.

Evangelions… LCL… Plusguit… PHASER… fantastic things that transcended ordinary life. Shinji was scared of them then, things beyond his comprehension and things that _should not have_ existed. Whoever heard of Giant Robots walking around? It was only a thing of fiction to be a childhood hero at the hands of a super robo, working to save the world.

But he was here, wasn't he?

He stepped into the dining common where Maya was already taking a seat. She turned her head around at the sound of Shinji's rubber-soled Plugsuit feet plodding across the tile. She smiled, then said, "You can get lunch over there," She pointed and indicated a wall device.

Shinji walked up to it and looked over the panels. He shook his head slowly as the thought struck him of how… 'futuristic' NERV was in comparison to life above. DIAL-A-MEAL was one of those instances of 1960s futuristic visions actually coming true. Shinji looked over what he wanted, pressed each of the appropriate large yellow box-buttons, and then moved to the right to wait for the parts of his meal to finish preparations. A plastic tray with marked depressions was provided at the end, where Shinji slipped each of his meals. A spork finished the compliment, and he stared at it as he made his way to the bench seat across from Maya. The spork puzzled him.

Maya saw this, chuckled to herself, and then asked, "Ever see a Spork before?"

"Well yeah…uhm…" He looked down at his meal. "I just never used one before…"

Maya watched him try one of his meals. He made a face. "You get used to it," She told him with a look of sympathy, "I hated them when I first came here, but if you bring a bag lunch you have to go through extra security."

Shinji let his spork down into his food and asked her, "Maya… how did you end up here?"

Maya finished forking food into her mouth, chewed thoughtfully as she glanced up at the ceiling, swallowed and then said cheerfully, "It's a long story."

"I-I don't mind."

She laughed, then shrugged and said, "After the second impact… I finished my degrees at Tokyo University in engineering and… languished for a while. I tried to find work but with everything…" Her eyes went a little distant. Then she brightened again, "Eventually I managed to find a place and did some internships here and there across Japan. It's… two years ago?" She looked up at the ceiling, nodded, "Two years ago now that I applied to Tokyo-03 and got an internship. After my trial period I was offered a job, and now here I am."

Shinji listened to her story, but it didn't quite answer the question he had. He lowered his head.

Disappointment must have been on his face or something, for Maya asked, "Is…something wrong Shinji?"

"I…" He said after a moment, "I just wonder how you can accept all this. Evas and everything else…"

Maya's eyes brightened. "I believe in Science, Shinji." She looked down a little and moved her food with her spork, "After the second impact, sometimes I wondered if there would be any future for us left…" she looked up again, "But we always had science to pull us through. Evangelions, and everything else we have here, is from science. That's how I can believe in everything."

"Faith… then?"

"I suppose…" Maya replied, "I never quite looked at it that way…"

"I see." Shinji said, looking down at his meal. Satisfied with that answer, he started to eat again.

* * *

One of the first things Misato did when she got off the plane was to call Makoto. Things were going ok, and with the rifle mostly assembled, work began on 'That other thing'.

Yui had already vanished from the airport by the time Misato learned of that detail, so she hopped a jeep and went into the base herself to figure out what was going on. On the way, she checked the progress of the Angel. It was still on time for their seven o'clock date.

It was three fifteen when she discovered what 'that other thing' really was.

In the wide open maintenance section of the Evangelion Armory, a Boeing 844 Stratojet Space Plane had been wheeled in and was undergoing creative disassembly. Misato had to stare at the thing for a while but even she couldn't understand what was going on. Fortunately, Ritsuko was there. "Tell me why we have a multi-trillion yen space plane here and what we're doing with it."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Taking it apart."

"What for?"

Ritsuko opened a binder she had on her and flipped the pages. "You know what most heat shields are made of nowadays, right?"

"No."

"Composite alloys and heat-resistant ablatives… all with an electromagnetic coating."

"So?" Misato asked.

"So," Ritsuko replied, "We estimate that the amount used here, combined with the ablative can withstand the energy blast from the Angel for about six seconds."

Misato studied the dismantling of the tremendously expensive space jet. "All this just for six seconds?"

"You asked me to come up with some kind of defense," Ritsuko replied, "And the advisory committee approved."

"I was hoping for something a little more…." Misato couldn't find the word for a moment, "Useful."

"This was the best we could do." Ritsuko replied.

Misato sighed and crossed her arms, wondering how best to use the giant ad-hoc shield for the operation.

* * *

By Four o'clock, things were starting to come together.

The firing platform had been completed. A measure of camouflage had been thrown over the thing- even though the Angel had been apparently oblivious to the entire construction. Yet, for the miles leading up to the platform from the south, huge cables had been laid.

It was now that the final steps for putting together this monumental project were being put together. Power had been secured from across Japan, and now they were being railroaded into former Hakone proper. The firing platform was right into the side of Mount Byobu, and down the back side of the hill huge power transformers were stacked in rows. Engineering teams were swarming over the connections, making sure everything was right.

Though… this was the only part of the plan that had advanced. Problems had developed with the PHASER, and the shield construction had been halted to get the massive weapon working properly. Even Yui Ikari was called from the depths of NERV Science to work out the technical problems during construction.

Shinji in the meantime underwent a physical. Kyoko said nothing during the examination, but Shinji could sense that even she was under some kind of pressure. They had three hours left before the Angel penetrated the Geofront. Nobody wanted to sit around and wait for it to happen.

After Shinji was cleared in his physical, he decided to see the weapon for himself. He was at the hangar then, at five o'clock.

The massive weapon was in one piece now, and Shinji could easily see how he would he handling the weapon. Two spherical components were connected by a cylindrical section with accompanying shoulder brace. A trigger was positioned under the first sphere with an elaborate handle, and the barrel was a short and stubby thing with no indication of a scope.

Of course, the Eva computers would be doing all the aiming.

The whole thing was mounted on two crutches, each off of the bottom of the spheres. But when Shinji winced he could visualize gripping the thing. It might mean removing his shoulder guard though… since-

"Shinji!" Doctor Akagi's voice called. He turned his head.

He had been overlooking the hangar, and further down the catwalk was a platform with several computer terminals. Ritsuko was here, waving him over. Shinji hurried over to the platform.

Ritsuko took off her glasses and sighed as Shinji came up, then she nodded to the weapon, "Well, what do you think?"

"It-It's big!" Shinji was forced to admit.

"Just the right scale for an Evangelion, however."

"Are All Eva weapons this big?"

"Mostly," Ritsuko replied, "None of them are as powerful, though. This is the weapon you'll be using against the Angel."

Shinji swallowed, not at all liking the idea that he was shooting at something Holy. But then, this thing had nearly killed him. It nearly killed Asuka too. Before he could dwell on the ramifications of implied blasphemy, he looked down at the weapon again and spotted someone moving among the works. He leaned forward and put his hands on the railing, blinking and wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. "Mother…" came out of his lips.

Yui Ikari was down there, speaking with some of the technicians.

"Your mother's been here since three, trying to sort out all the bugs." Ritsuko replied.

Shinji just watched his mother from on high, knowing that she couldn't see him. He wanted to call to her, to wave, but somehow the atmosphere of the conversation below suggested he shouldn't interrupt her. She was busy. His gloved hands squeaked against the railing.

And then he caught sight of someone moving swiftly through the equipment. Someone with red hair.

Kyoko Soryu Zeppelin.

* * *

"Doctor Ikari," Kyoko toned, "I want to have a word with you."

"In a moment." Yui replied as she signed another clipboard one of the technicians was holding. It was something to the effect of granting the team permission to raid another hardware store for bolts. It was necessary.

"_Now._"

Yui ignored the tone as she finished her signature, thanked the man, and then turned her impassive face to Kyoko. "Yes, Doctor?"

Kyoko held up a clipboard of her own. "The second children has made a full recovery and is currently on medical standby. Why aren't we using her?"

"Because her Evangelion is inoperable. It can't hope to even function in a support role with the hole in it's back."

"I was implying we would put her in Evangelion 01."

"Not possible." Yui said without a beat.

"And why not?"

"You know as well as I do, Doctor, how Evangelions behave when commanded by their non-native pilots."

"Funny, since Evangelion 01 performed admirably with Rei at the helm."

Yui paused a beat as she stared at Kyoko. Then, "My decision still stands, doctor."

"Then justify to me why you're putting a novice pilot at the helm of a critical operation? The boy couldn't find his own way out of his paper bag if it wasn't for Akagi's entire division swooning over him!"

"No different I imagine when your department was instructing Asuka."

"Don't you dare compare my daughter to that snot-nosed runt you brought in to pilot your Eva with a Temper Tantrum!"

Heads were turning and work was slowing now, but Kyoko went on, "I will not compromise our best chance of succeeding in this operation for your maternal desire to see your child perform to your satisfaction!"

"Nor will I on your part, Kyoko." Yui said. Kyoko's mouth worked, but she was at a loss for words. Yui went on, "We do not have the luxury of switching pilots. I understand you have the need to show your daughter's superiority in piloting but we do not have time for your maternal-"

The slap stopped work in the furthest reaches of the hangar.

Yui had not flinched or blinked, only stared at Kyoko with a level gaze. Kyoko, panting, regained her composure.

"Return to your duties, doctor." Yui said.

"You're not seriously still going through with-"

"I am not going to tell you again."

The women stared at one another for another moment, before Kyoko hissed, "If I have to I'm going to appeal to higher authorities in this matter. I won't have you throwing away all of our lives!"

"I have faith in Shinji's abilities."

"I do not."

Yui looked up right at Shinji.

Shinji, privy to the whole thing, withered as all eyes were falling on him. "Shinji!" His mother called, "Do your best!"

"Y-Yes…" He answered.

"That is enough for me doctor." Yui said to Kyoko, who was now whitening with embarrassment. Yui went on, "We both have much work to do and I am done entertaining your ego. You are dismissed."

Kyoko whirled and stormed out of the hangar with no further protest. Shinji watched her go, mouth agape, and then looked down at Yui. She was walking back through the forest of machinery and out of sight.

Ritsuko looked over at Shinji and noticed his skin was several shades lighter, and he was trembling. She reached out and touched his arm.

"GAH!"

Ritsuko's hand recalled a little and she looked into Shinji's shocked face.

* * *

Shinji sipped at the hot chocolate gingerly.

Ritsuko watched him.

The two of them were just outside the hangar, by a vending machine. Ritsuko didn't know why she wanted to escort the boy out. Nor did she know why she paid for his drink. He was slumped against the wall, seated on the ground, staring into space.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ritsuko asked.

"I…" Shinji swallowed, looked down at his cup, "I didn't know anyone… hated me that much. Not even my parents."

Ritsuko leaned up against the wall too. "Kyoko is a special case Shinji. I think she hates everyone to some degree or another… even her daughter."

Shinji's head dipped a little. "Will she get in trouble?"

"What makes you say that?" Ritsuko asked, a little surprised. She went on, "You didn't do anything wrong Shinji. Even if our wonderful doctor had decided to push the issue, procedure demands at least three days of testing to make sure the unit won't go berserk when rejecting a pilot. It's happened before, with Rei in the past."

Shinji twirled his cup slowly in his hands, "What did she mean about Rei piloting my Eva though…"

Ritsuko brushed a hand through her hair. "Rei is a special case. That's all I can say about it really, even I don't know all the specifics. In any case Shinji, don't worry about her. Just focus on what you have to do and we'll sort out the rest later."

Shinji swallowed and wondered if there would _be_ a later.

* * *

When six o'clock came, the time for questions was over.

As he crossed the platform to the Entry Plug of his…Evangelion, Shinji identified the unusual feeling that had been hanging over him ever since coming out of the hangar with Ritsuko. Tension.

It manifested in an odd way. It felt more like midnight… the eve of something grand and important. Of course, they WERE at the eve of something grand and important… saving the world.

Saving the world…

The hatch closed over him again and Shinji realized he forgot to tell someone to click off the lights. Maya and Ritsuko were already at the firing sight, getting everything prepared and supervising the operations up to the last minute. Everything should be ok but…

He sighed and closed his eyes.

The cockpit went through its procedure, and he knew things were ok after the bubbles left his nose. He counted to three, and then opened his eyes. "Ready."

Not even the bedazzlement of the cockpit start-up could shake the feeling that coated his innards. The hum of the cockpit perhaps best described it- the constant undertone of tension in his very-

The English characters appeared again, bright, blue, and bold in his vision. Only this time it was a single line. It winked out, but when Shinji closed his eyes he could still make out the forms of the characters, just in his vision. He tried to read them.

I BELIEVE IN YOU

Shinji opened his eyes at that realization, but he did not have long to dwell. "Shinji?" It was Ritsuko.

Shinji willed the channel into an open one. "H-Here Doctor Akagi…"

The little visual window of Ritsuko showed her curious face. "Something wrong? You look startled."

"N-Nothing… Nothing important." Shinji replied. More system windows opened up to answer his curiosity about his machine. He read them, saw no red or yellow areas, and announced, "M-My machine has started up. Everything looks good."

"Very good." She replied, "We're going to be transporting you now. It might take a while since you'll be going further than you have before. Just sit tight… the gun's right here, and Rei is also coming with you. She'll be in the cart behind you."

Shinji nodded, and then voiced a question that just occurred to him, "What about… the Angel."

"It's still coming."


	7. Summit

VII

Summit

The sun was low on the horizon.

Across the valley where Lake Ashinoko lay, the mixture of shadows and stark lighting gave the place an otherworldly feel. It was still daylight, but this was the time when even the night lighting of civilization carried importance. Beyond in the city of Tokyo-03, the automated lights were indeed on and running even If there was nobody there to utilize them. They would remain on for another five minutes.

Shinji felt odd there, in the cockpit looking over all of this. But the humm was present, and personified the feeling that touched his innards. The tension was here…but controlled. He rehearsed in his mind what he had to do.

The PHASER was there, on the firing platform below him.

His Evangelion felt a little unbalanced as it was missing the right shoulder pylon. A necessity, since the weapon could not be fired from a prone position with that obstruction. For this operation, precision was needed.

Beside him was Anayami. He looked at her machine.

The yellow-painted predecessor to his unit was standing tall and erect with that different head. But it was also holding something ragged in the shape of a shield. The frayed ends of what used to be a shuttle's lower atmospheric shield made it look like Rei's Evangelion was holding a kind of framed second-hand quilt. How could that thing give him protection? How long would it protect him, even? That hadn't been made clear to him.

He looked up. In the distance, the form of the… angel was still spinning. He wondered if he would ever get used to calling them by the name NERV did. While Shinji was not a religious person, he didn't like the idea of causing harm to divine beings… life was already hard enough. The last thing he wanted to do was have a deity above angry with him…

He swallowed. No time for questions, Ritsuko had said. They had to wait. Shinji glanced over at Rei's machine again.

Unbidden, the vision of seeing her laughing with his father returned to his mind. What HAD happened? What WAS Rei's connection with his father? What WAS going on between them?

He wondered if he should try talking to Rei. Somehow, the system translated this as a command, and the comm. window opened to Eva 00. That window, SOUND ONLY, lingered for a moment. When Shinji realized HE was transmitting, he swallowed. Not sure how or what put him on the spot, he asked, "A-Ay-Ayanami?"

"Acknowledging." Rei's emotionless voice replied.

Shinji swallowed, gripped the controls on his Evangelion, and asked her, "Do you know what to do?"

"Yes. I am to protect you."

"With that?"

"Yes."

Shinji looked at the ragged thing again. "Will it…w-Will it hold up?"

"It will have to." Rei replied.

Before he could say more, the lights in Tokyo-03 went out.

* * *

"Target will reach headquarters in ten minutes, fifty-six seconds."

The mobile command bus was abuzz with activity as three different languages crossed the airspace behind the mountain. Power trunks, backed up for miles, were now coming online as the entire energy output of an island-nation was being fed to the world's most powerful weapon.

"It is now time 00:00:00. Commence operations."

"Begin PHASER charge!" Misato commanded, "Initiate first connection!"

Shinji was already prone, gripping the weapon and listening to the cross-talk beyond him. The hum was still in his ears.

"Roger. Transferring power from the water-exchange unit."

Shinji eyed the status display plastered on the left screen of the cockpit, showing the flow chart of all the energy connections up to the weapon just over the shoulder of his Evangelion. Slowly, each of the bars filled. At the end, they would be connected to his gun.

"Initiate second connection!" Misato's voice called through the radio.

"Starting all accelerators." "Starting converger!"

"Transferring power from the Mt. Gotemba sub-station. No errors detected."

Ritsuko looked over the displays in the command bunker, and then pulled up a status display of the PHASER. "Pre-warm-up sequence complete. Activation commencing."

The PHASER had been already activated once and brought to standing power in the hangar. For obvious reasons it hadn't been fired, or brought to full power. Now the energy was available… the hope was that the weapon wouldn't come apart when it was needed.

"Initiate Third Connection."

Shinji tensed in the cockpit. From here on out, all rested on the weapon. There would be no change in plans.

"Roger, beginning procedure. Transferring all energy to the Mt. Futago substation."

"All cooling and power systems running at full capacity."

"…No problems in third connection."

Ritsuko spoke at her station. "PHASER crews, stand ready. Pre-fire chamber shows clearance… vacuum is assured. Plasma generators on standby. Energy connections show green… tests completed."

While this was going on, Misato was making orders. "Transmit to Barricades 4 and 5, initiate operations."

Like before, on the night the Angel appeared, the hills surrounding Tokyo-03 lit up with activity. Rockets poured from the intact silos, and hill-mounted batteries miles away opened fire. Mobile artillery, also on loan from the Japanese Defense forces, let fly.

The sky was gold and smoky through all of this, as rockets and tracers flew for the hovering thing that was loitering in the center of Tokyo-03. But it was not idle.

As the rockets were halfway in the air, the thing shifted again, collapsing and telescoping to take new forms before lacing a beam into the sky, twirling it with precision to strike each and every single rocket projectile headed its way. All of them exploded before they were even in reach to shower the target with debris.

"Increase the fire rate on the kinetic cannons," Misato said, "I don't care if the barrels overheat."

The crews of those distant hillside weapons knew the target was stationary, and they already figured modulating the range of their fire was useless. They set the controls and abandoned their weapons. Behind them, the magazine chain was running so fast it was only a line of color. Shell casings flew like torrential rain for the exits, making a continuous ring that constantly filled the evening air.

Bullets streamed out like liquid, and indeed, anyone still around the fire sights moments after the controls were set could see the barrels begin to glow from the amount of battleship cannon shells being flung at the angel.

Even this was ineffective, and one minute after issuing her order, Misato watched the barricades vanish under the assault from the angel. "Third wave. Tell the cruisers to open fire." She commanded. This order was being relayed to the Pacific UN fleet, where several large cruisers and two battleships on loan from the United States were waiting stationary. "Lets see how it handles indirect fire. Begin third artillery bombardment."

None of this was in hopes of weakening the AT field. They all know that. It was for another reason entirely.

Shinji was watching the effect through his scope, seeing the Angel transform and reconfigure through all of its motions. In every instance, there was…something at the center. A small object, perhaps the size of a man. It could only be one thing… "The core…"

"All power is connected. No problems found." Makoto announced within the command trailer, turning to Ritsuko.

Ritsuko was nodding, "All circuits engaged, Mister Spock."

"Standing by number one." The PHASER crew leader, Leonard Spock reported, "Energetic Plasma is at 94% potency. Ready for transfer!"

Shinji's cockpit toned. The weapon was beginning its warm-up.

"Setting designation," Ritsuko announced, "Twelve. Total disintegration."

Shinji hit the setting. The connector between the two spheres rotated, shifting to a final position of 12. It was the highest setting for the PHASER.

"Adjust for the gravity field and revolution of the Earth by –0.0009. Auto-correct." Ritsuko announced, machine-like.

As Misato watched more mountains being disintegrated by the angel to get to the sea-side cruisers, she ordered the air forces in and glanced over at Misato's station. She whirled her head back to the tactical screen, satisfied the weapon was being primed for firing.

"Set." Shinji announced.

Ritsuko flicked the frequency to the firing team total. It was now or never. "Commence primary ignition!"

Makoto pulled the safety lever off.

"Initiate fifth and final connection!"

The weapon toned it was ready for the pre-fire sequence. Shinji lined the barrels up, and the computer toned down.

At that moment he realized he was not afraid.

…It was there, but only a needle of blue-white against the dusk embrace of calm. His pulse was racing, he was breathing hard and ragged, but as he sat there, the shot coming closer and closer… he only felt numb. "It's up to me…" he uttered softly in the cockpit, "My shot…"

"You may fire when ready." Ritsuko said softly.

"Standby!" Spock said over the radio, waiting for Shinji to pull the trigger. Ikari flinched, even as the computer was toning the go.

"Standby!"

He pushed the trigger.

"Phaser energized! Plasma transferring to pre-fire chamber…"

Everyone on the platform now put on the red-hued safety goggles. Though most of the radiation was pointed forward of the barrel, it was also postulated that some particles might reflect out and around from the barrel in odd directions. Blindness was not ruled out, necessitating the things. Though they were only red-hued plastic eyepieces, it was all that was needed.

There was a warbling whine heard from everywhere on the firing platform. The spheres were pulsing and glowing as the high-energy plasma was cycled from the rear tank, then modulated, to the front pre-firing chamber. After that, it went through the crystal and…well… only simulators told them what happened next.

"Rapid Nadons detected!" Rang over the platform.

Two technicians who were manning the unlucky station within sight of the PHASER recoiled as the bright light from the barrel became visible. "PROTONIC CHARGE-!"

A brilliant blue beam of energy lanced out from the barrel of the gun.

The entire foundation shook from the sheer power radiating out of the shoulder-mounted cannon. At the moment, it was simultaneously creating and cycling high-energy plasma into the firing chamber to maintain the constant flow.

Shinji was, essentially, firing the entire energy output of Japan through his gun…continuously. The entire effort of civilized Japan was, literally, on his shoulder. And projected at the Angel.

Misato watched from all the directional cameras as the PHASER Beam stuck the Angel. It actually recoiled from the blast, making her lean forward to the monitors in surprise to examine the detail. But it hadn't died, and as that thought settled in she watched to see just how long the thing could hold out.

It was modulating, but at a slower rate, trying to push against the beam suddenly cast on to it. "Continue firing!" She ordered. Everyone was too stunned to hear her, so she repeated with emphasis into her microphone, "CONTINUE FIRING! ALL OTHER BATTERIES"

Even if the PHASER wasn't doing its job, she'd be damned to let this opportunity pass up to slip in a lethal shot if she could.

* * *

Shinji remained focused, holding down the trigger in the cockpit of the Evangelion. He knew he was matching the beast… he wasn't winning, but the angel was having a hard time dealing with this new threat to its existence.

He would not be able to recall what he felt then, only calm and the shaking. All he could recall later in those moments was the mask of tension over his eyes as the targeting computer hovered in front of his face. The massive flicker of radiation was constantly fluctuating as it came off the beam. "I need more!" He cried.

"Increase the power!" Ritsuko's shout was heard only dimly through the low rumble permitting the Eva's cockpit.

The beam increased in intensity, growing wider and more painful to look at. Many who saw the beam now would not be able to recover their eyesight, the intensity was so great.

So was the radiation bloom.

And so was the force exerted against the Angel's shield.

The warbling whine was now reaching higher pitches, and visible waves of raw energy were lapping off the face of the Angels' AT field as it labored to keep the beam away from its important point. The AT field at the point of contact was pure white.

"Can you give us any more!" Ritsuko demanded, but it was only dimly heard by Shinji.

Misato wanted to echo her comment. The 3D model of all events being recorded by the sensors was showing the beam practically on top of the angel's core. The AT Field of the angel was also bright white now, manifesting in the series of octagonal beams that looked ragged and distorted- strained as if being pulled inward by the beam, which was now solid and uncompromisingly blue-white. This was the PHASER at its full setting.

Not even the power to blast mount Everest off the face of the Earth in an instant was enough to overcome the Angel's shield.

"What a monster…" Misato whispered as the thing held the energy.

"Our circuits are beginning to heat We have to cease power!" Spock wailed.

Something popped.

The beam ended.

The Angel collapsed backwards, and the whine started to die from the PHASER.

Silence filled the valley. It was palpable.

"What happened?" Misato demanded.

It was from Spock. "One of the circuit capacitors overloaded! We'll need to replace it!"

"TIME!" Demanded Misato.

"We need cranes-! two hours-"

"NO TIME" Ritsuko demanded.

"Shinji!"

* * *

Shinji just watched with horror as the beam died. He ducked his head out of the targeting computer, checking all of the systems. The weapon was functional, but he was out of Plasma to pump through the gun. No power. He glanced back at the Angel, now pale white with terror.

But it was very, very slow in getting back up. It was hardly moving, slumped over a number of buildings in the city. "Misato, hurry!" He screamed.

* * *

"Rei!" Misato commanded.

Rei dropped the shield, and started at a run from the coastline. She went though Shinji's firing arc and vaulted over a line of power lines and transformers. The ground crew screamed as the humanoid construct crash-landed and annihilated acres of forest.

But on her knees, Rei whirled around to the power train. The one that blew was obvious. She ripped it clear from the housing and discarded it. She looked down and saw someone pointing. Following his arm, she found one of the few spares parked on a redundant line and picked it up.

Ritsuko, standing in the command center, was running her through the replacement procedure rapid fire. "Leave the minor connections to the power teams. Place the unit in position- exactly and carefully. Watch the copper connections-"

Shinji was starting at the thing as it was beginning to come back together again, picking up speed gradually despite the withering firepower still being rained from above by a vengeful airforce. Even as the weapons were hitting the naked skin of the angel, it didn't seem phased. Fear started to grip Shinji by the throat as he realized this…_thing_ intended on extinguishing him before the thing itself was killed. He clicked the trigger, only for the female voice of the PHASER to tell him there was no charge available.

Rei was working as rapidly as she could. Spock was walking her through it on the ground end- taking the risk of being so close to the handiwork of the Evangelion to monitor it personally. "Test!" He cried.

A beep toned in the cockpit. "No!" Ritsuko replied.

Spock pointed and ordered some of his men to try something else.

The thing was shifting back upright, re-forming into the diamond.

"R-Ritsuko!"

"Test!"

Beep.

"No."

Spock whirled, "Lieutenant-General, the copper connector on the train is damaged. It needs to be held down in order for transmission-"

Ritsuko whirled to Maya, "Confirm, conductivity of Evangelion hand-plate armor!"

Maya took two seconds. "22% conductivity!"

"Rei, You'll have to hold down the transformer!"

"What!" Misato barked.

"Understood." Rei replied.

She pressed the unit down.

"Red Alert!" Ritsuko screamed, "Emergency Procedure 3!"

This went out over all radio frequencies. To anyone in the know, it meant bypassing all verbal checks and confirmations unless there was a problem in transmission. All valves were open, no impediments were to be put in the way of firing the gun.

Power returned to Shinji.

He did not hesitate. He pressed down the trigger.

The PHASER started to hum to life again.

He also saw the Angel starting to unfold. His mouth went agape, but he did not release the trigger. It was now a race to see who fired first- the Angel, or the PHASER.

Another alarm was shrilling in the command center- this time from Evangelion 00's status display. Maya whirled. "Reading EM discharges into unit 00's arm blocks!"

Rei's hold on the power converter was a shivering one, and the arms of the Evangelion were jerking at the voltage being carried into the skin and structure of the Evangelion. It was slowly being electrocuted. Rei grit her teeth, despite loosing the feeling in her arms and the increasing pain stabbing down her shoulders. She gave a whimper as it touched her heart.

Kyoko, silent until this point, barked suddenly, "Pilot signs on unit 00 in danger! FIRE!"

"FIRE NOW!" Misato urged the weapon.

It obeyed.

The brilliant blue beam of electromagnetic energy potent enough to be visible lanced out of the Phaser at setting 12. It intersected with the Angel's simultaneous counter attack, defeating it in a flash of light and then striking the Angel.

"MISATO!" Shinji shrilled, "ALL POWER!"

Ritsuko blasted into her radio, "All stops out! Kill the dampers!"

Brave men and women swung hammers to those valves, and not all of them survived the effort. The power dampers needed to regulate the raw energy had just been removed.

Ritsuko's last command was to remove the safety inhibitors from the PHASER's plasma converter remotely. Though this now presented the risk of rupturing the chamber and pouring molten plasma on to Eva 01's back, it was the only option open to defeat the Angel.

It was out of their hands now.

The increase in power made the weapon's barrel and pre-fire chamber glow as more power was poured on. Shinji, fighting the rumble in the chamber, began to scream as he fought with the weapon, holding it tightly with the Eva's hands.

Rei screamed.

The AT Field on the Angel snapped visibly and the beam went through it in the next instant. Holding down the trigger, the beam continued through the angel and into the mountains behind it, boring a long trail through the landscape as matter was converted directly into energy from contact with the beam.

The angel fell backward onto Tokyo-03, screaming into the air as it toppled. When it hit the city, it collapsed, sections bursting into blood and covering the streets and structures of Tokyo-03. Only when Shinji saw the thing disappear beneath the skyline of Tokyo-03, did he release the beam.

The humm and whine of the PHASER started to die down, and he only panted in the cockpit as silence once again fell over the lake. Vapor and smoke was clearing from the city, and all he could see there was the glow from some fires started by the proximity of the beam. The sun was setting beneath the hills to the west, illuminating the clouds in hues of pink and red.

Everyone was quiet in the command center, until Misato gathered a breath for a declaration.

Ritsuko beat her too it. "He did it."

Shinji, however, had another exclamation. "Ayanami!"

* * *

Evangelion 00 had toppled backwards, with the armor on the arms singed up to the elbows. It occasionally jerked some, and bolts of lightning arced occasionally from the unit Ayanami held and the Evangelion.

Shinji had discarded the PHASER and hurried his Eva to Ayanami's side. Anyone who ventured near the Eva now turned and ran to clear the way for the Evangelion unit. "Ayanami! AYANAMI!"

Shinji turned the fallen yellow unit, wincing as he registered a static shock to his machine as he touched the armor. He didn't care. He turned the unit and found the hatch cover for where the plug was supposed to go. Without thinking he popped open the progressive knife, and used the tool to stab into the Eva's armor.

Kyoko was protesting. "You Neanderthal! You could risk injury to the pilot! What the hell are you doing?"

Ritsuko looked away from Kyoko and turned to Maya to do Kyoko's job. "Status of the pilot?"

"Vitals show she's flat-lined…"

"Defibrillators!"

Maya tapped her keys. "I can't! The signal can't get through!"

"Ikari-" Kyoko hissed.

Shinji pulled the hatch cover off of Evangelion 00 and threw it two miles away. The plug automatically sprung free and started disgorging the LCL. Shinji didn't have time to worry if it was conductive or not, he grabbed the plug, ignored the shivering of his arm and set the thing down. Kneeling his machine, he evacuated his entry plug.

* * *

"BOY!" One of the technicians shouted, and another had to grab Shinji before he touched the plug.

"Let me go!" Shinji cried.

Another technician threw a pair of wires at the plug. When they didn't explode into sparks from a charge still in the metal, he nodded to the one holding Shinji down, who released him. Shinji ran to the emergency exit and started prying at the emergency escape exit. The technicians, at first at a loss, eventually moved forward to help him. It took three people to open the emergency escape hatch's melted locks. Shinji immediately slipped inside, "Ayanami!"

The girl had collapsed on a chair identical to Shinji's own entry plug seat. She wasn't moving. "Ayanami!" He grabbed her, "Ayanami!" He tried shaking the girl, only to realize she wasn't breathing. "No…"

He heard a whine in her chest unit and nearly dropped her as he heard the thump in her chest. Then it happened again, and she took in a gasp of air. "Ayanami!" Shinji cried.

The girl moaned softly.

Shinji moved over her, grabbing her and bringing her close to him. As she sighed and shivered against his body he wondered…why was he doing this? He hardly knew Rei. Why was he…

Because she put her life on the line for him.

Soberly, he relaxed his grasp a little, but then realized something else. This girl was like him… like Asuka… a pilot. And perhaps like Shinji, she was not necessarily a willing one. She opened her eyes. "Ik…Ikari."

"You're all right!" Shinji beamed with relief.

Jerkily, the girl reached up a hand and dabbed at Shinji's cheek. "Why are you crying…?"

Shinji could have guessed it was LCL she saw, but dabbing at his own face, the wetness didn't feel as dense as LCL got when exposed to the air. He laughed to himself. "I-I'm happy you're alive."

He looked up into her puzzled expression. She asked, "Why are you concerned for me?"

Shinji blinked. "B-Because you're a fellow pilot… an Eva pilot! A…And… you risked your life for me."

"I was ordered to."

"But you didn't have to."

"Yes I did."

Shinji shook his head. He didn't want to try decrypting Rei's expression right now. He was just happy she was alive. He said so. "I'm just glad you're ok."

Blinking, she seemed stunned. After another moment she said, "I'm sorry… I don't know what I should do in a case like this…"

"You could smile." He offered.

She tilted her head a little, and in that moment Shinji recalled the last time he saw her smile. As his face started to wear his emotion though, it changed, for Rei's mouth curled upward into a grin. For him.

Shinji took a breath of air.

But someone blasted it out before he could use it. "OUT. NOW."

* * *

Shinji was barely outside of the emergency exit hatch when Kyoko yanked him out of the way. Shinij collapsed face-first into the mud. He squirmed to get back up, protest on his lips, but stopped when he saw the urgency in which Kyoko was going about her performance. There were other specially suited technicians as well, working to get the main hatch to the plug open. There was a drone overhead as some kind of helicopter- no- a _jet_copter was coming down to land next to the downed plug. What was going on?

"Shinji-!" he just heard at the edge of his hearing and turned his head. Ritsuko and Maya were some distance away, walking forward. Shinji got up and walked towards them, but glanced over his shoulder at the proceedings going on at the plug. Maya came towards him with a blanket, and upon seeing it he realized it was getting dark and cold. "D-Did we do it?"

"We're still here aren't we?" Ritsuko replied.

Shinji turned his head back to the plug. Ritsuko answered his unspoken question, "She's being airlifted back to the base Shinji. We had to re-start her heart. If it weren't for you pulling her out of there, we're not sure if the signal could have gotten through."

Shinji swallowed. "The angel?"

"Dead." Ritsuko replied and tilted her head, "Just before it would have breached the roof of the geofront. Apparently the PHASER slowed down the drilling, too."

Shinji nodded shakily. "Is everyone safe?"

Ritsuko blinked. "I wish I could say that Shinji… but we've had a few fatalities. Some people had to die to get you the power you needed at the last second."

Shinji looked down. Ritsuko placed a hand on the boy's cheek, making him look up.

"You saved everyone here Shinji. Me, Maya, the base, the city…"

"The world!" Maya added.

Shinji smiled as the ramifications of this set in. He did it. He did it! He succeeded at this task, where he had doubts before. Was it really that eas…

He caught sight of some of the bodies nearby, white sheets over them. He turned to face them but neither of the women explained what they were. They didn't need to.

"It wasn't easy." Shinji said, finishing his own thought.


	8. Hazards

II – LIVING

_It started with a song._

_The soft, singsong melody of the words was beyond him. He could only hear the soft whispering voice of the woman singing._

_He was… somewhere close. Somewhere warm. The field beyond in his vision was a sketch of a grassland with a blue sky, a tree, and mountains in the distance. The warm sun was beating down on his face._

_…But things were moving slowly, jerkily, like an animation played at half speed. _

_"Na…na..na…."_

_There was just enough power in the voice to hear the tone the woman was using as she was singing. It was…..!_

_Shinji's head jerked backwards and upward._

_Only a pair of eyes looked down at him._

"Gha!" He gasped sharply, bolting upright in the darkened room.

Shinji panted in the darkness, sweat on his body, and looked up. Realizing this wasn't his apartment he let himself fall back on to the bed. "Another unfamiliar ceiling…"

He rolled back and tried to get some sleep, but it wouldn't come immediately. He was wondering what exactly he had just seen in that dream… and why the voice sounded so familiar…

* * *

VIII  
Hazards

* * *

It would be a while before Tokyo-03 was habitable again.

It wasn't just the horrible pool of alien blood or the evil stench coming out of the morbid well formed out of the Angel's bore-hole. There was a great concern about whether areas of the city had become irradiated because of the PHASER beam. NERV was still drawing up a plan of action on how to deal with the structures showing positive signs of harmful radiation. Fortunately all of the high-rise structures of Tokyo-03 were still secured below-ground.

In the end officials told the citizens of Tokyo-03 it would be another day before they were allowed to revisit their homes.

Shinji was one of the few, fortunate ones not to be required to take up residence in an emergency shelter to the south. He was allowed on base. As he thought about it though, he couldn't find a justifiable excuse for Hikari to miss him in the shelters with the other citizens of Tokyo-3. She would be looking, Shinji knew. It comforted him to know that someone… missed him. He couldn't recall any other time in his life when someone felt like that about him. He liked the idea.

He was still mystified why he wasn't allowed to shelter with his parents though. They hadn't even come to see him- or congratulate him- since the mission yesterday! Then again after the firing and the winding-down of the operation there was little time for anything else but packing down and sleeping. Shinji was still shaking from the experience… his first battle with an Angel.

And he had saved the world. He still didn't know how he felt about that.

Feeling cooped up in a room too pristine and prepared for him, Shinji left his temporary quarters and started out for the rest of the base. He wasn't alone here- other members of NERV forced to evacuate their surface-side homes had taken up lodgings in this previously abandoned area of the base. He wondered why this was, what it was built f-

"Gah!"

The next thing he knew, he was on the floor.

"Sorry oh sorry…Shinji!"

Shinji looked up, a hand still on his head from rubbing the sore spot. Maya was there, though not in uniform.

"I'm sorry Shinji I didn't see you! Damned blind corners," She stood with a hand outstretched, offering it to him. Shinji took it and stood up, thanking her with a nod. He looked at the colored section on the wall with the writing denoting the function of the block, 'QUARTERS, BLOCK 5C.'

"What was this place for anyway?" Shinji asked, "My place feels like a hotel room."

Maya sighed. "The residential block here was originally built to house the construction workers who built this place. Nobody ever had a need to tear them down so…" she shrugged. "Good for us, huh?"

"Couldn't we bring the people from Tokyo-03 down here…oh," He hesitated.

"Classified, Shinji," Maya waved a finger. "Besides," she added with a note of sadness, "I don't think there's enough room even in these blocks."

"I see." Shinji looked down.

Maya perked up again and asked, "Where ya going?"

"Oh I uh…" He turned his gaze, "I-I wanted to walk around… where are you going?"

"Oh..ahmm…" Maya blushed a little, "I was stopping by to see someone."

"Me?" Shinji asked.

"Me." Another voice said, making Shinji turn around. A man was standing behind him in the bend Shinji cleared only moments before.

He had never seen this man before. But Maya had. "Ah! Aoba!"

'Aoba' was wearing the same uniform that Maya had during the synch tests. This person was a NERV staffer- likely in the same department as Maya.

The woman went on, "Why are you in uniform? We were supposed to have lunch!"

Aoba rubbed his head. "I got called in early. I tried calling you-"

"You did?" Maya said, pulling out her cell phone. She opened it, and then did a little jump as she realized it was off. "Oops…"

"I'm really sorry," Aoba said, walking around Shinji, "I'll make it up to you- how about dinner?"

"I go on duty at 1730 hours…"

"What? Well, how about a compromise then?"

Maya thought about that. "Lun…er?"

"Luncher. At 1300. I'll see if I can sneak out around then."

She gave him a hug. "All right. Promise me!"

"I promise." He said, releasing from her. He looked at Shinji. "A pleasure to meet you mister Ikari. Thank you, for what you did yesterday."

Shinji found himself blinking in surprise. "N-No problem…"

Aoba smiled then gave a lingering look at Maya with that grin as he started off into the base.

Maya, glancing at Shinji again, got an impish grin and called after Aoba, "If you break your promise I'm gonna take Shinji to dinner instead!"

"What?" He replied from down the hall, catching Maya's snickering face.

Shinji wasn't sure how to take that. He found his heart racing at the prospect of actually dating a…. rather attractive woman. Even if she was older. His brain was getting carried away with the thought, but he couldn't help it.

Maya turned back to him and saw his blushing face while he stared into space. "Oh dear…" she sighed.

Suddenly the image of Ritsuko's knowing stare popped unbidden into her head. She sighed.

Shinji, for his part, was snapped out of his stupor by seeing her troubled. "Uh… Maya, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied. Taking in a breath and sighing it out to regain her composure, she stated, "Well, there go my plans for the moment. How about I join you on that walk?"

"Uehr…" Shinji uttered, suddenly feeling put on the spot and at a loss for words. An idea occurred to him though.

* * *

In some ways her office was a retreat. Ritsuko had, once, felt it hard to socialize with people. The computer terminal, stored files, everything accumulated since her early days of working here had all given her some kind of security and barrier against the outside world that she could use to keep people away.

She noticed admitting this to herself on the hour she finished the report on the firing of the PHASER and all the things surrounding its operation. She was still looking at the satellite map showing the gash that almost bisected the island.

There was a particular knock on the door, followed by a rude entry. Knowing that knock, she didn't get defensive or prepare herself to deal with an official. It was the other half of NERV Senior operations at this level, coming in. "Whew." Misato sighed against the door leading into Ritsuko's office.

Ritsuko stirred her cup of coffee. "Long night?"

Misato made an exaggerated stagger across the office to the nearest wheeled chair. It was the one with the broken fixture that let the occupant recline further than it normally would. Perfect for Misato Katsuragi. She collapsed in it unceremoniously and pulled at the zipper on her top a little, as if to air out. Ritsuko had seen this behavior before. "Who was it this time?"

"Your other half." Misato grumbled.

Ritsuko's grasp on her coffee cup tightened a little. She was aware of the 'counterpart' analogy that was sometimes thrown around in NERV: Gendo the counterpart of his wife Yui; Misato the 'action' counterpart to Ritsuko's 'science'. But there could be only one person Misato was talking about at the moment. Given what happened in the past few days, it would not be easy. "What did Kyoko say?"

"She wanted to have your head on a pike for allowing Ikari to go out of control."

Ritsuko was puzzled for a moment as she recalled the events of yesterday. "The rescue." She realized.

"Apparently she pressed the commanders for Shinji's mental instability on…oh how did she put it," Misato put a hand to her forehead as she tried to remember the exact phrasing, "Conducting a highly dangerous and irresponsible rescue attempt and endangering the life of a pilot in critical condition."

Ritsuko watched Misato sigh out the stress on that one. The woman turned to Ritsuko, apparently with a new thought on her mind. "What's the kid really like, in your opinion?"

"Shinji?" Ritsuko said, then set down her coffee cup, "Not much to tell. Quiet, reserved…" she stood, "Likes to please… a good boy. Learns quickly."

"I heard you and your staff have been specifically handling his training." Misato kicked off her high heels and tucked her heels on to the seat of her chair, "Not bad. He didn't break and run like I'd expect from a greenie."

Ritsuko finished pouring a new cup of coffee. "Shinji's taking this remarkably well, considering." She turned and advanced to Misato with the cup out, "I still remember when he arrived here. I have to confess," She sat down in her chair, "I didn't expect him to last this long either." She picked up her cup, "But he does have a grain of responsibility in him. He was always prompt in notifying me about any delays or experiments in the testing schedule." She swirled her cup, "You could say he's also won the hearts of some of my staff."

Misato didn't pick up on the sentimentality in Ritsuko's tone. "Cute kid." She said after that, sipping her coffee. She sighed, and uttered under her breath, "I could really use some booze instead. I don't really want to face all those damage claims sober."

"Not from my office." Ritsuko replied. She tilted her head and asked in one tone lower, "So, what was the result of the Kyoko debate?"

Misato sighed. "I just told her Shinji would have done what any other human being would have done in the same situation. Clearly the Eva was better for emergency action on another Evangelion. Besides, I figured if he was doing something dangerous you would have overruled him."

"I have a firm belief in Shinji's abilities." Ritsuko said.

"Well, you ARE his advocate." Misato said and sipped her coffee.

That put Ritsuko in an unusual feeling. "Advocate?"

Misato huffed a laugh behind her cup and said after lowering it, "Kyoko went on a tirade before an actual conference began. She accused you of coddling Shinji like some kind of surrogate son or something- to the Director's face! I think she was trying to gain leverage with the commander and Yui because Shinji's their son, or that you were playing favorites." She shrugged, "Yui didn't seem to care though."

Ritsuko nodded, but the odd feeling didn't go away.

Misato drained her coffee in one gulp. "Welp," She said, sliding her feet off the chair and back into the high-heels, "Those reports aren't going to do themselves." She stood, walking to drop off the coffee cup on the desk, "Tell Ikari he did good, from me."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Ritsuko asked, turning to watch Misato leave the room, "Maybe you can make it a proper introduction. Other than giving him orders, I haven't seen you make a proper introduction."

"I don't do well with kids," Misato said with a dismissive wave, "Besides, I'm really too busy. Later!"

Misato's shadow disappeared from the glass panes next to the door into Ritsuko's office.

Ritsuko leaned back, feeling now the quiet in her office and the soft humm of the computer. She didn't look at the photograph, but as Misato's recital of Kyoko's accusation rang in her head she felt the eyes in the picture staring at her again. Ritsuko did her best to force that thought out of her head as she continued with the post-operation report.

* * *

Shinji felt very awkward.

Maya tried to reassure him. "Shinji, if you're going to see a girl in the hospital you HAVE to get her a get-well present!"

"B-Buh…But…." He sighed.

In his hands was a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolate. With the lack of an immediate destination, Maya had given him one when he explained his intentions. "She'll love it Shinji!"

Somehow Shinji didn't think so, but he didn't think Asuka would mind the present. He actually had his doubts if Asuka was still in the building or not… she seemed healthy enough when he last spoke to her. He was a little releived to know that she was here, on the last day of being held over on recovery.

…Perhaps she would like the gifts, since she readily agreed to keep the cassarole he cooked for her. However, Asuka's reaction was uncertain since there was no telling how she could react with a mother like-

Kyoko.

Maya had gently pushed Shinji through the door after the nurse had opened it, hoping to see the young man present his gifts, but instead she let out a very unpleasant gasp at the sight of Kyoko Zeppelin in her daughter's recovery ward.

The Doctor dropped Asuka's arm, where she had been taking her daughter's pulse, but her head and eyes were fixed on Shinji Ikari. The stare was so intense it felt like Kyoko's gaze was drilling through his eyes and into his skull. He felt himself start to whiten.

"Out." Kyoko commanded simply.

"I..buh…I…"

Kyoko had advanced with a claw-like hand out to grab the things out of Shinji's hands. She racked them out of his grasp and on to the floor. The other hand pushed him out of the ward with unexpected force. Shinji couldn't believe this was happening, and it all felt very surreal as Kyoko pushed so hard it bawled him over. He collapsed on his back in the hall, regaining his focus on her just as she slammed the door in a punctual, final, way.

She stared down at the boy at first, but started with Maya. "Lieutenant, you are never to bring this boy here again. Understood!"

"Yes ma'am!" Maya answered, snapping into rigid attention.

Kyoko stared down at Shinji again who was still on the floor, Shinji's hand on his cheek he hit on the way down.

"Listen to me _Third_," Kyoko toned, "On my direct order as Medical authority of this NERV installation, you are suspended from further contact with the second children as of this time by reason of adversely influencing her performance. Further contact with the child will result in expulsion and possible criminal charges-"

A protest was on Shinji's mind in defiance of these wrongful accusations. He challenged as he stood, "But I didn't do anyth-!"

Kyoko suddenly seized him by the collar propelled him against the back wall, making both Maya and the nurse recoil at the forcefulness the mother was exhibiting. "You are dragging my daughter down, you little shit. I don't give a fuck if Akagi's swooning over you like some wannabe baby-momma or that your parents are my superiors. To me, you are nothing but a fucking amateur who's waaay in over his head. If you ever enter my daughter's presence again I will personally make your life hell for you. Stay. Away. From. Asuka."

She dropped him and whirled back to the door, opened it, and then closed it with a slam.

Shinji collapsed on the floor again feeling completely stunned. Nobody had ever been so physically violent with him, and he couldn't help his tears beginning to water. He was only vaguely aware of Maya's hands helping him up and leading him out of the hospital wing. He only got worse the further they went from Asuka's recovery ward.

"What did I do…?" He moaned, "What did I did I do?"

He was playing over in his head the assault, the door opening, and before… the look on Asuka's face.

It was pure shock.

* * *

Ritsuko was at a loss for words an hour later. Shinji had his head bowed. Misato seemed disinterested.

They were in the office of the Ikaris. Yui was working on a separate terminal at the far end of the desk while Gendo faced the three across it. Fuyutsuki was at his side.

"In light of recommendations from Doctors Ikari and Zeppelin," Gendo said, "We have decided to assign Lieutenant-General Katsuragi as the Ward for the Second Child, since in the opinion of Doctor Zeppelin the boy requires parental oversight."

Ritsuko suppressed a quiet note of outrage at the hypocrisy of the Ikari's. Then again, who was she to demand what was best for a child? The only thing she could do was argue reason on Shinji's behalf- she didn't want to see him suffer. She turned her head, "Doctor Ikari-"

"Doctor," Gendo interrupted her, "You will no longer appeal to Doctor Ikari regarding this rivalry between you and Doctor Zeppelin. Since you two cannot cooperate in regard to pilot handling I am forced to make a final decision on the matter. The boy will be separated from the second children and placed in the care of Lieutenant-General Katsuragi, per official recommendation by the medical department."

Ritsuko stiffened. If Yui wouldn't listen… "Then I must state for the record that Kyoko Zeppelin's actions and recommendations are totally arbitrary. As the department head of the technical branch and supervisor of Evangelion operations, I can see no technical reason why Kyoko Zeppelin would suggest isolation between pilots two and three. I can only believe that her motivations for such an action are of malice and vindictive feelings against Shinji's performance and his influence over her daughter."

"Considering Kyoko suggests that influence is negative, Doctor," Fuyutuski said, "Then it would seem you two are in agreement."

"…That's not what I meant. I am saying that Kyoko Zeppelin is using her position of authority to needlessly antagonize the Third Children for personal reasons. I can find no other reason for her suggestion other than this. I can bring testimony from others-"

"Doctor," Yui interrupted, the typing stopped. Shinji and Ritsuko looked over at her, but the woman was only giving a level stare. Ritsuko suddenly remembered the last time she stepped into Yui's office.

"I will have no further bickering between the two of you." Gendo said, "Unless you bring conclusive scientific evidence to me stating otherwise, the official ruling from command is to place the Third Children in the custody of Lt. General Katsuragi. Furthermore, no more intrusions into the operation or handling of pilot health, mental or medical, will be tolerated. Our priority is the maximum efficiency of the Evangelion units- not fostering warm relations between the members of the organization. If I find you telling Kyoko how to do her job again, we will have to reconsider your position here."

Ritsuko opened her mouth, but Gendo cut her off, "Do I make myself clear?"

Ritsuko stared into the eyes beyond the glasses, but they didn't move. There was no sympathy from the faces of the department heads. "Perfectly." She sighed in defeat.

"C-Can I say something?" Shinji asked, his head still bowed.

Yui didn't resume typing.

Gendo turned his head to face his son. "What is it?"

"R-Respectfully…sir…" Shinji swallowed, trying to picture himself addressing a super-strict instructor, "I-I don't know what I did to cause this. It would be easier for me if I understood why-"

"Doctor Zeppelin feels you are distracting her daughter from her duties. We are therefore putting you under supervision to ensure you do not bother her again."

"But I wasn't!" Shinji protested, raising his head at last, "I didn't! I just brought her dinner one time and tried to get to know her!"

"Ikari," Fuyutsuki said, leaning forward a little, "Pilot Langly is under a strict training program under her mother's guidance. Deviation from this plan upsets her program."

"But she's living on coffee and Raman! Studying herself to death!"

"Irrelevant." Gendo grunted, "You will be moved to the estate of Lieutenant-General Katsuragi. You are not to concern yourself any longer with the Second Children in matters other than piloting and battlefield cooperation."

Shinji blinked, starting, and then looked down. "I… Dad, couldn't I move in with you? Or mom?"

"We are very busy Shinji." Yui replied.

"I-I won't get in the way." Shinji said, a plea as his eyes were lowered to the ground.

"You will move in with Katsuragi." Gendo said, releasing his hands and placing them palm-down on the desk, "The matter is closed. Dismissed."

Ritsuko and Misato stood. Shinji didn't move. "Come on Shinji," Ritsuko said softly, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and guiding him out of the office. Yui resumed typing.

* * *

On the elevator ride back to the rest of the base, Shinji was very quiet in the lift.

"Welp," Misato said, "Now that I got little Ikari to take back home with me, I'm gonna call it an early day. At least I can put off all that paperwork-"

"Shinji still has some things in his apartment." Ritsuko interrupted, remembering reading the assignment papers placing Shinji in that dismal apartment block. But then, was Misato's place really better?

Misato waved this off though, "We can stop over and pick it up! It won't be a problem."

Ritsuko's gaze remained level with Misato. The Lt. General blinked. "What's that look for?"

"Don't scare him."

"What do you mean by that? I'm perfectly harmless Ritsuko! It's not like I have sharp knives or mean dogs at my place."

Ritsuko just looked back down at Shinji. The boy hadn't moved or said a word. "Shinji," She said, "Everything is going to be fine."

The words sounded hollow, even to her.

* * *

Ritsuko had parted from Shinji and Misato at another junction to return to her office. She found her thoughts lingering on Shinji though, and what kind of… reception he would receive at Misato's place. Ritsuko had been there once or twice… it was an acquired taste, living there.

What was she concerned about? Shinji was a grown boy. If he handled Evangelion combat, he could handle Misato's place…

Why was she worrying about Shinji's welfare?

Her office was cold and still as she entered. She walked to her desk, sat in front of the computer terminal, and caught sight of the Photograph again.

There was no reason it should have. It was always there, in the plastic frame it had been set in years ago, in the same place on the desk where it had been put as a gift. Ritsuko had never moved it, nor had it ever (to her knowledge) been moved. But now her attention was being drawn to the photograph.

She tried to work, pulling up the maintenance logs on the Evangelions and staying clear of the testing schedules. Focus on the machine, not the pilots. That was her duty. Close down, shut up… and…

Ritsuko sighed and looked back at the photograph now, facing it.

It was a picture with many faces, all the close friends on the base many, many years ago. At the eve of the first of the tests. Everything was so optimistic then.

Her mother had been very proud of her, and she proud of her mother. Until…

"Fine!" Ritsuko hissed bitterly to nobody still alive, "But I won't apologize. You were still a terrible mother."

* * *

Shinji should have been used to fear by now, being at the NERV facility and asked to drive around a hideous humanoid monster-robot and kill equally horrible things straight out of nightmares. Kyoko Zeppelin was another demon now in his recent thoughts. But once on inside the car of Lt. General Katsuragi he was introduced to a new terror he thought he had mercifully left behind at his aunt and uncle's place.

Misato Katsuragi was a demented madwoman.

That was the only explanation for her driving habits he could think of, as well as the fact that the woman was driving a rickety, bust-up car. It just didn't make sense. The woman had a death wish, and she didn't care who she took with her. Shinji was screaming most of the time on the ride, being jerked around in the car as Misato drove wildly through the streets of Tokyo-03. There was a brief reprieve when they pulled up to the security checkpoint at the edge of town, but Shinji was too panting and winded from constant screaming to really grasp anything that was being said.

"Where you headed?"

"Housing Block 14C. Gotta pick up the kid's stuff!"

The guard spoke into his radio. He eventually nodded, and said, "yeah that area's been cleared already. Good luck though- that's one of the places that got pasted."

"Welp, all the more fun for us!" Misato replied, gave the guard the victory fingers, and hit the gas. Shinji screamed again for the second "joyride" through the empty streets of Tokyo-03. The guard merely shook his head as the woman departed into the distance- no use trying to nail a NERV officer for a speeding ticket in THIS city.

"Isn't this great?" Misato screamed over the roar of the engine and the wind rapidly passing the car, "Nobody out here and no cops to nail us! WOO!"

The car screeched through an intersection and Shinji, for a second, almost felt the seat belt let go and release him out of the passenger window (it had no glass). He actually saw the first part of his life flash before his eyes- something he would recall he never felt in the Eva, ever.

Was it possible there was something more frightening than Eva piloting?

He had no time for questions as Misato peeled through another intersection at full speed, leaving tire tracks behind her.

* * *

"Welp!" She chirped, "Here we are!"

She saw Shinji staring up at the ceiling however, panting with eyes wide. "Shinji?" She asked.

"Staaaoooppp spinning… ugh." He muttered, leaning forward but missing where he thought he was going. He rebounded, making Misato chuckle with amusement at the winded kid, but unnoticed to Shinji a shade of disappointment crossed her expression as she turned to open her door.

She was around the front of the car by the time Shinji opened the door. He practically fell out of the car. Misato looked down at him with an amused look. "What's the matter, never been on a roller coaster before?"

Truthfully, Shinji tried to avoid them. Despite his aunt and uncle trying to make him "more fun" by subjecting him to such things, it only made him not like them more. During other times he figured this was because he wanted to be able to volunteer before being shaken around. Of course, when he did consider this later, Evangelions once again came as an exception.

That was later. For the present, Shinji was dazed, confused, and uncomfortable. "Wh-Where are we?"

"Your apartment."

Suddenly sober, Shinji stood despite the dizziness, bracing himself on Misato's car as he leaned back up.

They had parked on the street in one of the turn-in spots. It was along the same street that he had come with Asuka for the first time, and at a similar angle which he saw the building for the first time.

"Oh…"

His eyes found Asuka's door.

"C'mon kiddo!" Misato chimed as she clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Let's go get your stuff!"

"O-Okay…" Shinji replied, glancing up at the apartment building one more time before he followed Misato to the stairway on the side of the building.

* * *

On the second story Shinji hesitated, looking down the rows to Asuka's door.

Misato hesitated on the steps, but figured out what he was doing. "Shinji," She toned.

He hesitated for a moment more, wondering if he would ever get to see the inside of her room again. "I-I know…" He looked up at Misato, "Asuka has one of my cooking pots though… I let her borrow it to save the dinner I made for her."

"Oh," Misato said, hesitating, "Well… I can talk to Doctor Zeppelin and have it given back to you-"

"No, it's all right," Shinji grunted and started up the steps, "She can keep it. I really don't care. Her mom would probably just dump out the casserole anyway. Then it's back to Coffee and cheap ramen…"

"Shinji," Misato said when Shinji reached the top of the bend. He turned around. She went on, "I know it's hard for you, but it's the commanders orders. Besides, Asuka might have special personal needs that only her mom-"

"_I know_!" Shinji barked from the top of the stairs, "She has to study and nothing can get in the way of that! But I wanted to be a friend and let her eat something more than instant ramen like a regular human being!"

Misato frowned at his retort, but also heard him say as he kept going up, "I was just trying to be her friend… why am I being punished for that?" Frowning a little, she followed him up the steps.

A streak of indignation had finally arisen in Shinji, not just from the injustice of being evicted without facing his accusor but because he was being outed from a place he was just looking forward to living in. Strange as it was, he thought as he approached his floor, he had actually been looking forward to having the place to himself. He didn't have to rely on anyone else, he didn't have to set his schedule for anyone else, he-

There were boxes on this floor, by a door. His things!

Shinji only managed to take five running steps to them before he realized some of boxes were deformed…as if…

"Shinji don't touch them!" Misato called from behind.

The stench only confirmed his fears. "Oh no…" He whispered breathlessly, looking over the boxes of which some he packed personally. In some cases the contents were spilled… it now looked more like a pile of refuse than a boy's entire life up to 14 years of age.

It wasn't just on the boxes. His door, and a good stretch of the hallway was covered in the alien blood. He examined the wall, seeing parts of it splotched off like spray from a water hose… and realized why he hadn't seen this from the street. Apparently the cleanup crew wasn't aware anyone lived here and did only a… trivial job. They washed down only the façade of the building and didn't bother to clear out all the walk-ways.

"Who the fuck do you think this is!" Misato was screaming into her cell phone, "Fine, I'll tell you, I'm the woman who writes out all those goddamned damage and cleanup reports! Now if you don't come back here and do your goddamned job PROPERLY I'm gonna have some skins! I need a full decontamination crew here- there are personal items that need to be salvaged. No- No I don't want to hear your bullshit excuses- as far as you're concerned, it's NERV property you'll be cleaning. Got it! Get over here, Now, or we'll see about making some 'budget cuts' in your direction." She snapped her phone shut and sighed.

Shinji wasn't paying attention. He was staring at the shipping notice on the front of the boxes, able to make out 'EXPEDIENCY' on the front. "They sent it direct…" he uttered.

As fast as possible. Everything. So they could be rid of him.

It was not unexpected, but the reminder of his relatives… eagerness to be rid of him only amplified the destruction of his personal belongings. And now, strangers would be combing through all of his private things, examining them, scrutinizing them, making sure they were either free of contaminants or too corrupted to be saved. Every little thing of his, private or not.

Others would be, once again, deciding what happens to him.

The fact that an entire hazard team had to be called in made Shinji guess simple water and soap wouldn't do the job.

Steps behind him. "Shinji," a hand on his shoulder, "The de-con people will be here and clean your stuff, ok? Whatever they can save they'll ship to my place."

"Thank you." Shinji said, but in an empty tone.

Misato sighed. "Well, maybe it isn't all bad. Your stuff inside should be safe, right?"

Shinji looked at the doorway that was also covered in angel blood. His life behind it was sealed off from him, along with all the hopes and promises of customizing his own living space. Now he'd have to live to Misato's schedule.

The car ride, if any indication, was already giving Shinji misgivings.

"Anyway, we can't do anything here now and the cleanup crew are going to need space. C'mon, let's go home."

Shinji didn't pick up on her enthusiasm. He just stared at the door and the life that was just starting to be built. Finally he turned away and started for the stairs. Misato followed him.

* * *

The car-ride to Misato's place was mercifully short and, to Misato's credit, without the wild-life driving of the first stint. Nothing was said as they drove across the deserted streets… Shinji was too preoccupied thinking about what shape his life would take from now on.

Misato, though, was disappointed. First she's roped into doing this thing for the Ikaris, now the kid won't appreciate what she's trying to do for him, back-talking her in the process? Why didn't command just send him to Ritsu, anyway? Oh, wait, everyone is too busy with other things. Apparently everyone presumes the Battle commander is the one with all the free time.

For some reason Ritsuko's mocking grin came into her head, but she didn't know why. What did that old woman nag her about, anyway?

Before she could make the connection, they were there. "We're here!" She chimed, Shinji's dismay put aside.

Shinji got out of the car and looked up at the apartment complex he would be inhabiting… for now on. It was a little more welcoming of an architecture- with a degree of character in the angled face of the structure and balconies at each of the residences.

Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

He pulled his backpack out of the car and slung it over his shoulder. He was still wearing the clothes from a few days ago… something of an odd sensation, strangely, after being in his plugsuit for so long. He followed Misato up another new set of stairs and to the front door of an apartment.

"Here we are!" Misato chimed as she unlocked the door.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Shinji only made it into the doorway when he saw Misato look down and hesitate. "W-What is it?" He asked her.

Misato flopped her shoes off and strode into the house. Shinji could only listen as he started to take off his own shoes, but heard a man's voice from within the apartment. "Well hello Beautiful"

"What are you still doing here!" Misato demanded in a stern voice, making Shinji pause. He looked down and saw a man's pair of shoes also in the foyer.

Nobody told him that Misato was living with someone… Maybe she…

"Now now, that's not the way to talk. Especially since you were so inviting last night."

Shinji finished pulling his shoes off, and started a cautious trot to the hallway door as he heard the man go on, "What's wrong? Something happen at the base?"

Shinji rounded the corner and was hit with…well… shock. It came on several levels.

The first was that the place was a mess. Beer cans were almost everywhere, as well as plastic bags and discarded insta-meal trays. There was hardly any available counter space anywhere in the house- even the table. The only clean bit of the apartment he could immediately see was the floor.

The second was the stench. It wasn't as hideous or horrendous as the angel blood, but the mixture of what smelled like dried curry and beer immediately assailed his nose with the first few sniffs. There were other smells too, but Shinji could only guess what they were.

The third was the man, who was looking up at Shinji now with a pink bathrobe on. He also had a pair of wineglasses in one hand, and a bottle was in the other.

"Well well Katusragi," The man said after glancing at Shinji, "If you were planning a threesome you should have let me know in advance."

Shinji blinked and started to redden with embarrassment while his thoughts illustrated some frames of what that could be like. He fidgeted at the notion of… sharing to complete strangers.

Misato pushed the man. "Didn't you have things to do!"

"I did," The man said, setting the glasses down on one free spot on the table and hefting the wine bottle, "But I finished them and thought I would make tonight special. I guess you had other plans."

Misato turned, "Oh, this is-"

"Shinji Ikari." The man said.

Shinji's bewilderment was only compounded. It also came with a slice of paranoia. "H-How did you know my name?"

"You're pretty well known in my business," The man replied and tilted his head a little, "The son of Commander and Doctor Ikari, summoned from supposed exile far away and declared an Evangelion pilot without years of training, over other potential candidates. You're a mystery to many."

Shinji didn't like what he was beginning to feel. "W-Who are you?"

Misato grunted while crossing her arms, "Ryoji Kaji… my boyfriend."

"Come now," Kaji said, "Not with so much reluctance. What's the occasion for Shinji being here?"

"He's going to live with us."

"What?" Kaji asked, the smile broken for the first time.

"What?" Shinji echoed, completely unaware that he would be living with two people now.

Misato sighed as she crossed her arms. "I don't like it anymore than you guys do, but it's a commandment from on high. I guess Kyoko's paranoid Shinji will somehow corrupt her daughter with good feeling or something."

Kaji chuckled, "I suppose the good doctor is afraid of Shinji putting the moves on the anointed one, eh? Though… I wonder why he isn't living with his folks? Or Ritsu?" then, to Shinji, "I heard you and Doctor Akagi were getting along."

"W-We are…" Shinji replied, suddenly wishing Ritsuko could have taken him in instead. He turned his head to the counter and thought he saw something entering one of the beer cans. Now he wondered how infested this place was with bugs. It interrupted dwelling on the rejection from his parents, at least.

Though Misato voiced it. "I think Shinji's parents don't want him getting in the way of their work. Seriously, they're the most dedicated people on base… next to Kyoko. I guess the entire base thinks I have too much time on my hands for some reason."

"Ah." Kaji replied. He looked over at Shinji and said, "Well, I suppose a change in plans is in order… and I need a change in clothes. Be right back."

As Shinji watched Kaji leave he suddenly recognized why this was sort of feeling all familiar- from the dishevelment of the place to what Kaji and Misato had said.

It was almost like his aunt and uncle's place.

"All right," Misato said, "Well, this is the kitchen and the living room. The bathroom's through there," She pointed, "And your room is there!" She pointed at another hallway. She planted her hands back on her hips, "It's full of boxes right now because I've used it for storage, but maybe tomorrow we can clean those out."

"I-I might have school tomorrow…" Shinji said. The entire battle against the angel had taken up all weekend.

"Oh right! Do you need a ride?"

"No…"

Misato tilted her head, "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing…" Shinji replied, feeling the weight of everything starting to tug at him.

His phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it.

It was Maya.

* * *

"Shinji I'm sooo sorry about today!"

He was out on the balcony talking to Maya. The sun had already fallen behind the hills and the sky was nothing but rays of gold.

"I shouldn't have pushed you into that! Now I got you into trouble and kicked out of your place!"

"It's… It's ok," Shinji replied, "I was the one to get you in trouble."

"Nononoo!…ah…" She sighed, "Well, how's the situation at Lt. General Katusragi's place?"

Shinji sighed as he tried to put together his thoughts in a few seconds. Then, "The place is out of control… it's a mess! There's some guy here…"

"Guy? Oh…wait, that's probably Kaji!"

"Does he work at NERV too?"

"No I don't think so… uhm… he came here with Asuka and Doctor Langly before you got here on some assignment. I think he's with the UN. And… I think he and Misato knew each other in college or something. I didn't know he was living there!"

Oh.

"…Is everything all right? She hasn't beaten you or anything has she?" Maya asked, concern clear over the phone.

"No… it's just…" He said wistfully as he watched the last rays of light disappear from the sky, "I miss having a place to myself."

"I understand that Shinji." Maya replied, "But… orders are orders."

"I know." Shinji said, "I just… I don't want to feel like a problem."

"I'm sure you aren't a problem for Lieutenant-General Katsuragi!"

"Even with her boyfriend living here?"

Maya was quiet.

"Yeah."

"I can see where you're coming from Shinji. Is there… anything I can do?"

Shinji wished he could have had his pick of guardians. He hardly knew Misato, why in God's name did his parents entrust him with her? Maybe nobody knew. Maybe it was by whatever criteria that landed him with his aunt and uncle. His eyes lowered to he pavement and he saw a car go by. That did give him an idea. "Yeah… there is something if it isn't a problem."

* * *

After ending the call Shinji turned around.

Misato whirled away from the glass and walked away as if nothing had happened. Shinji paused there for a moment as he realized Misato might had heard the entire conversation. Bracing himself for harsh words, he stepped forward to the glass and opened it.

"So, aha," Misato said with a grin, turning around, "Did you have a good…phone call?"

Shinji closed the glass door. "You can drop the act Miss Katsuragi."

"Please call me Misato! Who were you chatting with, your girlfriend?"

"Miss Katsuragi-"

"Look," Misato's demeanor changed suddenly, "I've been trying to be nice to you, impress you, and welcome you into my home. The least you can do is show a little gratitude about it!"

Shinji looked at his phone and lowered both his hand and his head. "I just didn't want to impose on you and mister Kaji-"

"You aren't imposing!"

"Yes I am! Don't lie…" Shinji replied, despair now creeping up his neck, "Just like my aunt and uncle, my parents are dropping me in on your lives and you have to make room for me." he balled his fists, "Well, it's not like I wanted to be here either."

"Ok," Misato uttered with anger gracing her words, crossing her arms as her eyebrows were forked in anger, "If you don't like it I can stick you in the closet you little-"

Shinji broke into a run, headed for the door. Misato swung out a hand but missed, and Shinji bolted for the exit. The phone dropped out of his hand as he scooped up his shoes on the run out. Misato chased him out of the apartment.

"Shinji! SHINJI!" She called, making Shinji run even faster with tears starting to form in his eyes. He just kept running.

Misato tripped on the last few bunch of stairs on the way out and could only watch him disappear down the rest of the stairs, and the sounds of his feet running into the night. "FINE!" She shrilled, "BE THAT WAY!"

Kaji, in the doorway to Misato's apartment, slowly rubbed a palm across his face. The other hand was holding Shinji's cell phone.

* * *

She closed the door and exhaled a long-kept sigh of relief, before groping in the dark and finding the light switch to the apartment.

It wasn't much. One room, one kitchen, one shower. To her though, it was everything. Peace, serenity, and self-destiny away from the watchful eye of her mother. The only master here was herself.

Asuka kicked off her shoes, and then staggered across the carpet that ran from the entry into the main living area. This also had a floor carpet that she herself put down to cover the very cold tile. Dropping the pack containing her books by the bed, she reached across it and found the warm desk lamp that was beside her bed and turned it on. After this, she collapsed on the bed and rolled upward to look at the very comforting ceiling and the feeling of security and sovereignty there.

But she felt horrible, despite that safety.

She turned away from the refrigerator in the kitchen, groping for the covers and pushing them down her body to loop them again over her legs. Shivering at how cold the bed was, she waited for her body heat to warm them up and get her away from all this. She closed her eyes.

Shinji's smiling face, presenting the casserole, drifted across her mind. Unbidden, that evening days prior played out in her mind. She didn't want it, but there was nowhere else to go, no other memory she could bear to visit.

Another memory rose to attack her though. It was the instant her mother slammed the door and kicked aside Shinji's presents. "Bastard," Kyoko had snarled _auf deutsch_, "That's the last interference I'll tolerate from him."

"What's going to happen to him?" Asuka asked as impassively as she could manage.

"He will be removed," Kyoko replied, clicking on a pen-light, "To somewhere someone with nothing better to do can prevent him from interfering with your development. Now open your mouth."

As she did another idea crossed her mind. Instead of Shinji going under supervision… SHE could. SHE could be the one under lock and key… after all, didn't she let him in?

She blotted it out immediately- the thought of sacrificing her hard-gained independence was nearly unthinkable. She remembered the days of living in the same house, unable to escape least the police be called. Being a child progeny and already a test-subject in NERV, she was warned early on that there would be no foster-care or adoption for her should her mother loose control over her- more drastic measures would be necessary. Her mother told her all this on the first day she tried it. She never attempted it again.

But despite all that, and despite shoving the thought to the back of her mind, the fact that she had betrayed Shinji was cemented in her mind. What had he done, except be nice to her? What had he done except be a normal person who cared about her and her health? If anything the fault was hers in letting him in and allowing him to grace her presence.

The end result? Impact on her studies and development, or so her mother claimed. Her grades had fallen a few points because her studying wasn't constant, she had been distracted and allowed to forget.

Another memory surfaced then, as she mulled this over in the bed. The cool feeling in the ambience of the Entry Plug at remembering Shinji's visit… his selfless presentation of his gift. For a moment it felt as if she were safe in the Evangelion, too. It had been a long time since she felt that way in the machine she was being molded to pilot perfectly.

Wasn't that experience worth the minute detriment to her studies? Wasn't the better feeling and higher synch ratios worth Shinji's continued friendship? Wasn't that the point?

It wasn't her mother's opinion. That's all that mattered after all, since she was the scientist and supposed to know such things. Hell, she had been in unit 02 even before Asuka had- She should know, right?

Hearing her mother's voice in her mind she attempted to blot out the rising feeling of sympathy and the resulting knowledge that she had betrayed Shinji for her own interests. After all, what had he done to deserve this except be kind to her? He even gave her that full pot of Ramen to eat for herself, to save her from the thin diet she was eating.

Asuka curled up in the bed, clutching the ragged doll, and forced herself to become selfish at the commandment of her mother. What business did Shinji have to meddle with her anyway? How could the gift of his opinion be of any value to her? Wasn't her grades and work effort more important than friendship?

…Why did Shinji Ikari, who she hardly knew, have to care about her?

There were no tears but her eyes became wet and the night ahead promised to be painful.

* * *

Ritsuko suddenly stopped rubbing her hand on her face. "You did what?"

Misato sighed. "Well he was being a little ass all day! Back-talking and being so snobbish and aloof! Anyway, he was whining about something like imposing on Kaji and me and-"

"Kaji?" Ritsuko interrupted, then with emphasis, "_Kaji _is living at your place? What's he doing there?"

Misato only responded with a sheepish grin.

Ritsuko, eyes widening a little, leaned back in her seat. She composed herself, bringing a hand to her face. The memory of Misato reporting in reeking of perfume returned to her. "I should have known."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Misato asked, growing indignant.

Ritsuko blinked and then sat upright in her chair. They were in Ritsuko's office, Misato coming here after calling the doctor on Kaji's recommendation. Now Misato was starting to regret it, but really nobody knew anything more about Shinji than Akagi did.

"Shinji is a sensitive _teenager_," Ritsuko explained, "I imagine he felt pretty awkward about invading the lover's nest your building with Kaji. On Top of this," She added, stopping Misato in mid-motion of issuing a denial. She started tapping off fingers, "He has lost his home, been rejected by his parents, assaulted by Kyoko, lost one of the few friends he was making here of no fault of his own, and as you have told me had most of his possessions ruined. And if I remember your place, it's not the most inviting to unaccustomed guests. To top it off, it seems you never made a warm, proper introduction to him even after I suggested it. You're practically a stranger!"

Misato, hearing all this out, sighed. She sat back against the edge of the desk again, "Like I said, I'm not good with kids."

"No," Ritsuko sighed, "I know what it is. If he arrived months earlier, before the Angel attacks, Kaji wouldn't have been here. I would have been busy with repairs to unit 00, you would have met him at the station, brought him here, and be prepared for it."

"Or if that bitch had stayed in Germany for a few more months," Misato grunted, "Instead of pushing out here with her daughter as if she had something to prove."

"Maybe she does," Ritsuko sighed, and said, "I still think Kyoko's needlessly making a mess of the situation deliberately, hurting Shinji and Asuka. I don't know what she's getting at, but the fact that Shinji pulled off a successful operation with minimal damage to his Evangelion probably made things worse."

Misato pulled back with disbelief, "You think she's jealous or something?"

"Yes, actually." Ritsuko said, "Looking at it statistically, Shinji has a better synch rate, a better damage-to-sortie ratio even with just one battle, and mastered the Evangelion much quicker than Asuka did. What does this make Asuka look like? How do you think Kyoko would respond, knowing her?"

Misato thought it over. "Oh my God."

"Which leaves us in this current situation." Ritsuko said and shook her head, "Shinji doesn't need direct supervision- he will do as he is told if you explain the situation to him because he has a good sense of responsibility. Based on my technical understanding of Evangelion operations, Asuka's problems with synchronization probably don't come from him. If anything her scores showed a slight improvement since he got here."

"Then how come you didn't show this to Commander Ikari?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko turned her chair a little. "I can't prove anything unless I do a concentrated study on Asuka, which would immediately be vetoed by Kyoko, though I have an idea on getting around that. In any case, we need to think about Shinji."

Misato stood, "Kaji's already driving around, looking for him. I wasn't sure to call security if-"

"Don't." Ritsuko toned as she, also, stood, "If Kyoko gets wind of this, I can wager she'll twist it to some degree to put Shinji in a worse position."

"Anything to cut down competition on her daughter," Misato grunted, and then looked at he desk, "If only the kid hadn't dropped his phone."

Ritsuko picked it up and sighed. Then she flipped it open and looked at all the numbers he had called recently.

* * *

The house lit up again after days of dormancy. The first things done were to check the doors- make sure everything was still intact. There were stories about looters wandering around among the refugees- not everyone had been accounted for after all.

Fortunately everything was still here and the house looked untouched. The Horaki establishment had not been pilfered. The next thing was to check messages. "Hikari!"

The girl came down from her room upstairs. "What is it?" She asked her older sister as she entered the kitchen.

Kodama looked at Hikari, at first a loss for words, and then said, "I think you need to hear this last message. Someone wanted to talk to you."

Hikari went through her mind all the students who would have wanted to speak to her. Nobody she knew was suicidal, if Kodama's tone was any indication on the content of the message. And while she thought of herself as a very giving and supportive person, she didn't sign up to be a peer councilor. Maybe it was Touji, calling to apologize?

As Hikari made it to the answering machine, Kodama left the room. The look she gave Hikari by the exit to the room suggested that Hikari needed to hear this alone.

Hikari tapped the playback button.

"One. You have One Old Message."

"Hi Hikari, its Shinji. I hope you don't mind… I asked a… a friend if she could give me your number. I wish I could talk to you right now… you're not there are you?

"All right… well… it's a long story but I basically got kicked out of my apartment because of something I did… I don't know what, my parents won't tell me. But they're making me move in with some woman I don't even know, and she's living with a guy already and the place is a pigsty. Reminds me a lot of the last place I used to live… It reeks and the room I'm gonna be using is already full with boxes. I'm gonna guess they won't help me clean it out, if they're anything like my uncle and aunt.

"On top of this, most of my stuff was destroyed in the last attack. My…uh… parents have some strangers looking through all of that too. I dunno what I'm gonna get back."

A pause.

"I-I really don't want to be here. I was looking forward to living at my apartment and maybe inviting you over someday to help decorate… now I got a crazy woman whose going to be watching me and setting my bedtime and…" a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry I left a long message. I wanna talk to you about what's going on but I guess it will have to wait. I hope I can see you in class tomorrow or something."

Another pause.

"Bye…"

Click.


	9. Night

IX

Night

* * *

Ritsuko was startled when the phone buzzed. She opened it and read the number. "Hello?"

"…Shinji?"

"I'm sorry, This is Doctor Akagi from NERV. I have Shinji's phone, do you know where he might be?"

"No… uhm…" A long pause, "He left a message for me a few hours ago. He wanted to talk to me… he seemed upset… Is he in trouble?"

Ritsuko closed her eyes. "Not yet. I'm sorry to tell you that Shinji has been missing since sundown. May I ask who you are?"

"Hikari Hoarki, class representative of Room 16-A, First Municipal Middle School. Shinji was…. Shinji is my friend."

Ritsuko couldn't help but smile. "I'm glad he felt he could call you. We think Shinji is in a lot of pain right now and we don't know where he is."

"Can I help you look for him?"

"No, I don't think that's necessary. Does he know where you live?"

"No."

"I see. Miss Horaki, if you get any more information about his whereabouts, call his cell phone. We're as anxious to hear from him as you are."

"If you find him, can I talk to him please?"

"I can promise you that." Ritsuko replied, and closed the phone. She sighed.

"Well," Aoba said from the driver's seat of the car, "At least it's not just the three of us."

"Are you sure you don't want to call security?" Maya asked from the back seat of Aoba's car, "Maybe they can help?"

"I want to keep it as discreet, as long, as possible." Ritsuko said in the passenger seat. She closed her eyes, "If Kyoko finds out about this, I can imagine she'd try to use it to have Shinji drummed out of NERV. I'd rather not have him suffer any more than he has to because of her."

"It was only a move, though," Aoba said as he turned the wheel en-route to Misato's apartment, "And Lt. General Katsuragi is a fun kind of person when she's off-duty! I thought he'd love the chance of moving in with a babe like her."

Maya pinched Aoba's elbow from the back seat. "Gah!"

Ritsuko, ignoring the banter, only said, "There are a number of reasons. Not only was he assaulted by Kyoko today-"

"Assaulted? That's news."

"-But he also went unwillingly. From what I gather he was starting to come to terms with living here on his own…" She looked at Shinji's phone in her hands, "And put down roots. Besides, Misato may be popular but her home is not the most hospitable to guests."

"Why?" Aoba asked, "Does she like… throw her underwear around or something? Never take out the garbage?"

"Shinij called it a pigsty." Maya added.

"All true." Ritsuko replied, "Plus, I imagine things were pretty awkward with Kaji making himself at home."

"Kaji?" Aoba asked, "That operative who showed up a while back?"

Maya hung her head in her seat, "I guess they were old college friends…"

"And now they're back together." Ritsuko said, "In her apartment."

Aoba sighed, picturing the strangeness of Shinji's situation. "Damn, that's awkward."

"She probably didn't tell him in advance, either." Ritsuko added.

"Double damn." Aoba grunted.

They pulled into the apartment complex where Misato was living.

* * *

Shinji felt ashamed. Of course he felt embarrassed, running out of Misato's apartment. Her words were true after all, and he was being ungrateful.

But he also didn't care. Right now the regret of being ungrateful and rude was far in the distance compared to the muggy feeling in his guts that he was being displaced… again. And no matter what Misato said, he felt he WAS intruding on another family as an unwanted problem. There could be no other way to understand the situation.

The night air was cold, though fortunately some shops were open. He ducked inside and bought a heavy, hooded sweater before wandering back out into the night. At least they hadn't shut down his company card- he might not be in serious trouble yet. He wasn't sure if he wanted to risk it or not… he still didn't like the idea of being evicted from some kind of home- what would he do? Even if he was expelled from Tokyo-03, where else could he go?

…He would worry about this all later. He needed to find some time to be by himself and think things out.

But he really wished he hadn't dropped his phone. He wanted to speak to Hikari. Doctor Akagi and Maya were extensions of NERV and all they could probably tell him was 'orders were orders'. There was nothing they could do.

But at least Hikari, a civilian not connected with NERV (he believed) might be able to do something. At least be an ear for what he needed to say.

He also missed his SDAT player. The music would have given him some comfort, framework, and distraction while he did the thinking he had to do. He kept walking, picking North to travel with the hopes that maybe he'd hit school. If things were truly terrible he might find a way to wait out the night and attend class next day to talk to Hikari.

Downtown was a mess. As he walked he could see lights to the west, and occasionally the odor of alien blood touched his nose. Coming to one particular intersection, he looked down the long rows of buildings and could see a sparse line of people beside a roadblock. Taken by curiosity, he deviated from his course and walked to the line, throwing up his hood as a means to conceal himself.

From what he could see, it appeared that cleanup operations were very involved downtown. There was a low rumble that dominated the sky as he got to the edge of the picket line where returned citizens were gawking. He saw a huge pump on a multi-axel truck, and he could also make out several other chemical trucks parked around it. What were they doing, pumping all that angel blood? Were they going to store it or dispose of it?

Seeing all that there was to see he started off again, heading away from the picket line and to the north-east.

* * *

"I've been driving around the block, ducking into stores, and I still haven't seen him." Kaji said on the other end of the phone.

Ritsuko was standing at the base of the apartment, her own cell-phone in hand. Aoba had already brought his car to the front of the apartment and Maya was standing outside with the door opened.

"Kaji," Ritsuko said, "Thank you."

"It's partially my fault this happened." Kaji replied, "I had no idea of what went on at the base today. Other issues."

Ritsuko wondered what that could mean. "Keep your eyes open," Ritsuko said, "We're going to start our own search."

"Do you think he would have left Tokyo-3?" Kaji asked.

Ritsuko hesitated. She wasn't sure how likely it was Shinji would have boarded a train to leave the city. Today had been terrible for him, after all. "Let's presume he hasn't and keep searching."

"Understood."

Ritsuko hung up just as Misato approached, dressed for the night in warm clothes. She handed Ritsuko a jacket of her own, which she put on as Misato asked, "What makes you think Shinji wouldn't have left the city?"

"…Intuition." Ritsuko replied, though honestly she had no idea how she could make such a presumption.

* * *

Even though people were showing up again in the city that was so hastily evacuated, the city was largely abandoned even now. Under the yellow tint of the street lights and occasional street-level lighting from closed up buildings, the only things shifting were the traffic lights and debris blown about in the wind.

Without his SDAT to isolate him in his own world Shinji felt he was melting into the background of the city. It was an odd sensation of total loneliness… something new to him despite how isolated he felt in the past on other occasions. This was like the few times he had the whole house of his aunt and uncle to himself… though magnified on a much greater scale.

Wind whistled through the empty buildings as Shinji made his way through the city night. He considered ignoring the traffic intersections… there was nobody here after all… but decided to use them anyway and stopped to take in the night air and sound while he waited for the light to turn green.

It was odd and eerie to look at development that was purposed to handle such huge volumes of people… but with nobody using them. Sidewalks alone were as big as streets, and the streets themselves multiple lanes across. This was the edge of the deep part of the metropolis, and nobody was here to use it.

After several intersections of silence he came across both a map and the sound of a distant decontamination team. As he stopped to look at the map a trio of vans drove by, ignoring the street lights, and with the markings of NERV on them. They didn't stop at all on their travels, though Shinji half-expected them to burn rubber turning and blast spotlights on him like in those crime-pursuit TV shows he had watched. While he wasn't disappointed that they hadn't, there was something of an empty feeling. He turned back to the map and studied it.

He had no idea where he had come from or traveled, but at least there was a YOU ARE HERE sticker on part of it. With a finger he traced a possible route to the east of the city and north again. The Middle School was tucked in the northeastern hills of the city. It was somewhere to go.

Shinji started east again.

* * *

Ritsuko was alone in the little car with her laptop until Aoba and Maya returned. "Well?" Ritsuko asked.

Maya said as she slipped into the back seat, "One of the cashiers at Grace Brothers thought they saw a boy matching Shinji's description." Aoba closed her door and moved to the driver's.

"It probably was." Ritsuko replied, "I've pulled up the latest purchases on Shinji's company credit card. He bought a sweater."

"Yes," Aoba said, "Hooded sweater, grey-blue."

Maya said in a saddened tone, "He plans to be out all night doesn't he?"

"Maybe." Ritsuko replied and said in a sighing voice, "It's been a long time since I've been a teenager. This would be a lot easier if we knew where he was going."

"Maybe he went back to his old apartment?" Aoba suggested.

Ritsuko, nodding, said, "It's worth a start. Let's go."

* * *

The city of Tokyo-03 ended, but the abandonment did not. As he left the central metropolis and wandered into the eastern part of the city, the city buildings became less organized, polished, and advanced. Others were starting to show signs of real abandonment outside of the mandatory evacuation.

The streetlights were also getting more sparse, and for a moment Shinji wondered how he would defend himself from looters, if any showed up. They could take his wallet, his key-card and pass to the apartment complex, but that was really all that he had of value on him, unless someone prized pens and backpacks.

The wind picked up a little and the trees waved at him in the darkness. Before he knew it, he was on a road beside a long field of tall grasses waving silently in the moonlight. He looked north, seeing some buildings and the hills that were his destination beyond. He looked south.

He could see his apartment complex.

Stopping for a moment he considered going "back home", to a place he was forbidden from staying. While he wasn't technically in Asuka's presence, it would probably be close enough to get him into deeper trouble than he could be now. As Shinji understood it, he could always return to… Misato's? apartment and accept the assignment given. He might get a slap on the wrist for being disobedient, but it wasn't a direct violation of his orders. At least, that's the logic he applied to some of the instructors in his past. Shinji sighed, and decided to go north. While there was the appeal of going back home and laying down in his bed in hopes of forgetting the day, he didn't even know if the de-con team was still there and ready to stop him.

And he didn't have the heart to see his things picked at.

Instead he continued along the road towards the distant buildings, passing more and more offices on his left with abandoned cars in front of them. How many people had been here when the city was abandoned? He thought back to hearing that alarm, trying to remember the time it was when it happened. It seemed the city was evacuated right when most people were getting off work- even a commuter bus was abandoned at a stop, the lights still blinking silently and the doors still open. For fun, Shinji climbed inside and walked through it before leaving the bus and continuing on his journey.

The eerie feeling of being alone in the world, so easily imposed here, was intoxicating. To be alone in the world… what a feeling. No concern for parents or others, no need to wonder what their opinions were and what they could do to him… it was a strange, strange kind of feeling.

He stopped at another intersection to look around, up and down, and up at the sky and the moon overhead. A strange sense of déjà vu over came him, and for a moment he tried to remember if he ever dreamed anything like this.

No.

He turned and started walking north again.

* * *

The doorbell made her shudder. "Uhn…" Asuka muttered, before sitting up in the dusky lamp-lit room. She rubbed her eyes.

Realizing that she had indeed fallen asleep, she heard the doorbell again and immediately the notion of duty and responsibility came into her mind. The fact that it was nearly 10 o'clock at night meant it was really important. Asuka left her bed and walked through the kitchenette to the doorway and then peeked into the peep-hole.

Surprised, she opened the door. "Doctor Akagi, what can I do for you?"

Ritsuko immediately peeked into the apartment, but not seeing what she was looking for she looked down at Asuka with a crestfallen look. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted to know if Shinji perhaps sneaked back here."

"Shinji?" Asuka blinked, suddenly remembering his expression at the recovery ward and the fact that….

She whitened a little, feeling it in her face.

Ritsuko blinked and said softly, "Shinji has been missing for nearly two hours now and we don't know where he could be. He dropped his phone and we've been searching for him on foot."

"You mean security can't even find him?" Asuka asked.

Ritsuko blinked, and then said, "We've decided not to inform security just yet. We think Shinji just needs someone to talk to… I do not want to solicit NERV official involvement since Shinji hasn't directly violated orders… at least yet."

"Orders?"

Ritsuko blinked, and then explained, "He was ordered to evacuate the apartment here and take up residence elsewhere with Lt. General Katsuragi as his guardian. It was ordered directly by the Commander and head staff."

Asuka's eyes unfocused in thought. "I see…"

Ritsuko, picking up on the girl's distress, asked, "Is something wrong Asuka?"

There was a pause before Asuka recovered. "No!" She suddenly quipped, "No I'm fine… just tired." She rubbed an eye, "Still recovering."

Ritsuko nodded. She hesitated a moment, and asked, "Do you feel Shinji was a distraction?"

Asuka suddenly looked up. "What?"

"Your mother thinks that Shinji was a distraction to you and your studies, and issued an order to have him removed. I wanted to know how you felt about it."

Asuka looked into space again, mulling over what she wanted…. What she had to say. "I don't think it is a serious problem," she said in official tones, "But Pilot Ikari has been an influence over my piloting ability and studies."

"A negative influence?"

Asuka looked up. "I don't know."

Ritsuko nodded a little again. "I see. If you hear anything about Shinji's whereabouts, please give me a call. I want to resolve this without him getting into even more trouble than he already is."

"I understand." Asuka said, "Good luck."

"Thank you. Goodnight, Miss Langly."

Asuka closed the door after Ritsuko had gone and leaned up against the back of it, feeling terrible again and sighing.

* * *

Shinji didn't think it was possible, but there it was.

An abandoned building in Tokyo-03.

It was surrounded by a chain-link fence, with signs saying KEEP OUT and all, and with obvious signs of degradation. Strangely, there was no graffiti on the outside that he would expect of an abandoned building, though the grass was dead and some of the windows were cracked. Shinji stopped to stare at it for a while, wondering what it was meant for. It was certainly an elaborate building, whatever it was. Wincing, Shinji read the thin black characters over the top of the building's entrance, "Artificial Evolution Laboratory…"

He read the sign on the chain link fence, claiming it was private property of NERV and trespassers would be punished. Didn't say with what, however.

Shinji was about to turn and go when he heard something. Stopping to listen, at first he heard only the wind in the sky. But then he heard it again- the sound of footsteps. Shinji started at a walk away from the abandoned structure, the chain-link blurring as he moved by it. But then he heard footsteps again- closer this time, which made Shinji increase his pace. AS they got louder he broke into a run-

-colliding with someone at the corner of the crosswalk. Shinji fell, the other person staggered, and Shinji rolled on the ground to get back up. "Ikari!" The other person called out.

Shinji, panting and confused, blinked as he looked up into the stranger's dark form illuminated by a street lamp. Shinji stared at the boy for a moment, raising a hand to shield the lamp from his vision. "Wh-Who are you?"

The form pulled off the gas mask to reveal a familiar face. It was that kid swinging around the model in class the other day. "Kensuke Aida, at your service."

* * *

She couldn't help it. Pensive in front of her computer, she argued with herself weather to do this thing ever since she got the idea into her head. Her phone had been twirling in her hand slowly as she argued with herself weather she really wanted to do this and incur all this bother.

Finally she sighed and flipped open her phone, scrolled down to the contacts list and dialed the number she recovered from her answering machine. Hikari waited for the other line to pick up.

"Miss Horaki," Doctor Akagi asked on the other end, "Any news of Shinji?"

"I… no," She replied, "I-I wanted to call to ask if you got a hold of him yet."

"I'm sorry, but we're still looking."

Hikari glanced at the clock as she said, "It's been hours since he went missing. Are you sure I can't do anything to help you?"

"I'm sorry, but at this time of night I don't think it's advisable for you to be out alone."

"C-Could I join you then? As another set of eyes?"

"I think we have enough. I'm sorry miss Horaki, I understand your concern for him but we are doing everything we can."

"…Okay…" Hikari replied, "Thank you doctor." She snapped the phone closed. Looking at the clock again Hikari decided to try turning in despite her concerns. She looked at her phone again.

Normally she turned the thing off, afraid about microwaves messing up with her brain or whatever it was. This time she decided to keep it on, setting it on her dresser beside her bed, before powering down her computer. As it shut itself off she tucked herself into bed, grabbed one of her stuffed animals, and hugged it as she tried to sleep.

* * *

Shinji didn't have anything better to do, and no excuse to field against Kensuke's enthusiasm as the boy guided him along that chain fence. "I do this all the time, they never catch me." He snickered.

"What?" Shinji asked.

"You'll see." Replied Kensuke as they pushed through the shrubs and overgrowth along the fence. Shinji winced as he batted aside more branches and continued making his way, following the other boy through the undergrowth.

Finally Kensuke stopped and turned back to Shinji. "I'm gonna show you something really awesome, but I want you to promise me you'll never touch anything, okay? I'm serious here."

Shinji could only imagine what Kensuke could mean. "I-I promise."

"Okay," Kensuke replied and reached into his jacket to present Shinji with something, "Here, put this on. I think your sweater will be ok, but be careful."

"Where are we-?" Shinji asked, first high pitched, but then shushed by Kensuke, he asked again in a whisper, "Where are we going?"

"Inside." He said, presenting Shinji with the object. Shinji held it up to the dim lighting to see that it was a filter mask. Kensuke also handed him a flashlight, and then moved to the fence. Prying away a plate, a gap was revealed. Kensuke squirmed through, and then gestured to Shinji to follow.

Shinji, hesitant, said, "This is illegal! We could be caught!"

"Please," Kensuke replied, "I've been coming here for months and I never have! Besides, my dad says this place is already abandoned and NERV doesn't care. Come on!"

Swallowing, Shinji put on the mask and pushed through the hole in the fence. Kensuke nodded behind his gas mask and gestured with an arm to the building. "Keep your light off until we're inside!" He said.

Shinji nodded, and the two boys ran through the darkness to the backside of the building, hidden by shadows with no streetlights. Kensuke, glancing at Shinji, nodded before pointing. Shinji followed the finger to reveal a dugout with stairs leading to a basement entrance. "It's unlocked." Kensuke wheezed through his mask.

Shinji followed the boy down the stairs, hoping this wouldn't get him into serious, serious trouble.

* * *

"What is this place?" Shinji asked as his light played around the thick, dingy plumbing they were passing in the corridor.

"My dad says it was built here before the rest of Tokyo-3. Neat, huh?" Kensuke replied, his bulky thick-jacketed form revealed against the light his own flashlight splayed against the concrete walls, "Pulled out and abandoned when NERV moved underground. I've already looked around, there's nothing classified or unusual they left behind. All the outlines on the floor are pretty cool though."

Kensuke pushed open another door and treaded carefully up several steps. When he was clear, he gestured for Shinji to follow, and did so.

"Keep your lights on the floor if you're moving," Kensuke cautioned, "Not everything's gone."

Shinji looked around at the swirling dust being kicked up as he stepped out of the utility space and into a hallway. The floor suggested it had been polished tile once, long ago. There was even a pattern to it.

"Hey follow me," Kensuke said, gesturing with his flashlight.

They headed away from the front of the building and down the hall. Eventually it reached a staircase and they started their ascent. "What was this place for?" Shinji asked.

"My guess is genetic research or something. A group called GEHIRN used to run the place before it was shut down… I think they became NERV."

"GEHIRN?" Shinji repeated, "What does it mean?" What did NERV mean anyway?

"Beats me. Maybe something foreign, but not English. I already tried translating it, and the best I came up with was that it means 'brain' in German. I guess that about fits, because I think they were doing some genetic research or something."

They came up on to the second floor and Kensuke started down another hallway. Shinji played his light across a panel showing arrows and signs. He stopped as he read one of them.

Kensuke, noticing Shinji didn't follow, came back. "What is it?"

"That's my Father's name." Shinji said, the light stopped on one particular plate.

"Rokubungi?" Kensuke repeated.

"My father took my mother's name…" Shinji replied, "For some reason." The flashlight dipped a little. He never knew why that happened, not even his relatives knew. His father certainly wouldn't answer the question. Maybe…

Shinji started down the hall. "Shinji," Kensuke said in a hoarse whisper, "All the offices are empty here! There's nothing to see!"

"I still want to go!" Shinji whispered back, going down the hallway with his flashlight flicking up and down at the nameplates to each of the office, and stopping at one.

Kensuke came up behind him. "It's unlocked. They all are."

Shinji reached forward with a hand, noticing the door was ajar. He pushed it gently.

The office was empty but not completely bare. A desk was still there with the chair placed upside-down on it. Shinji stepped inside.

There was a dull illumination from the street lights through the frosted glass of the windows- they were opaque with age and neglect, but the dim light cast a feeling on Shinji that made him shiver some. This… this was his father's office. From a time before Shinji was born. Reverently he walked inside. Stopping he shined the light everywhere except on the window, playing around empty bookcases and dark monitors.

Even though there was nothing here for him to find, Shinji felt like he wanted to look anyway. He walked to another spot in the desolate office, ignoring the floating dust and dust bunnies as he made his way behind the desk. His light played across the floor when he stopped at something. Shinji bent down.

"Shinji! Put it down!" Kensuke hissed behind his gas mask, but Shinji had already wiped it off.

"Momma…" Shinji said, hesitantly as he stared at the photograph.

Kensuke bent his knees to crouch next to Shinji as the two examined the photograph. "You're mom's really pretty…"

"I guess…" Shinji replied. He was more enamoured at the contents of the photograph.

It was an assembly of people, in front of this very building, all smiling and happy. His eyes bounced between the faces, surprised to recognize some of them. "That's Doctor Akagi… I wonder who she's next to?"

"Her mom," Kensuke said, "They look alike."

Shinji's light shone on more faces. "…Doctor Zeppelin."

"Who?"

"Asuka's mom."

"…Who?"

"Never mind." Shinji replied, looking at more faces, "That's the sub commander… Who are these people?"

"Probably staffers here." Kensuke said.

Shinji shone the light back on his mother and father. They seemed so…happy together. His father was smiling and without the sunglasses he wore now. Without the beard, he looked kind of like Shinji himself. A shudder went down his spine.

But… he saw how close his mother and father were, and his eyes rested on the warm smile that his mother had never shown him since his arrival here. It was almost like a different person.

He started to stand with the photo in hand but Kensuke's hand came out. "Leave it."

"I want to take it."

"And I don't want to get in trouble and diced up for letting you steal stuff!" Kensuke hissed, "You're right, I can get in trouble, and I don't want to take any chances. Leave it, please."

The fear of punishment acknowledged within him, Shinji set the photograph back down where he found it with care, matching the hole it made in the dust. Slowly, he stood.

They looked around the office for another minute, but nothing else jumped out at them. "I want to go." Shinji said. Kensuke offered no complaint.

* * *

No 'men in black' were found when they exited the building, and their exfiltration of the premises apparently went unnoticed. Rather than return to the city street Kensuke hiked through the tall grasses, headed north, and through some bushes. With nothing better to do, Shinji followed him.

The two went through the underbrush until Kensuke stopped at a small clearing under a tree. Shinji clicked on the light he was given, only for Kensuke to lean down and light up a fire. Shinji clicked it off, and saw that the clearing also had a tent and a pile of stuff that glinted.

Weapons.

"Take a seat," Kensuke said, pulling off the gas-mask and helmet that he had been wearing up till now. He pushed his glasses up his face and took a seat on a tripod chair already unfolded.

Shinji sat down on the dirt opposite of him across the fire.

"I didn't know your parents were part of NERV," Kensuke said.

"Yeah," Shinji replied, staring into the fire.

"My dad is," Kensuke said, "He's a technician for Evangelion operations. He's in the know about some things, and he can help me get away with my…heh… hobbies. How about your parents?"

"…They work at NERV." Shinji said.

"Is your dad still a director there?"

"Yes."

"Ah! Lucky!" Kensuke said, "I wish my Dad was president of a huge place like NERV!"

"…Don't tell anyone, please?" Shinji asked.

"Cross my heart. I won't even tell Suzuhara!"

Shinji had to think a moment, class was so far away. Oh. Him.

"You gotta forgive Touji," Kensuke said as he register Shinji's recollection, "He's really forceful with his feelings and his sister got squashed in the first attack. He's really bitter about Evangelions and NERV and all that, but he has to stay here because his father works at NERV too. And you can guess about the company quitting policy."

"Yeah." Shinji replied.

Kensuke sighed. "Well, how 'bout this, I'll keep quiet that your folks are in NERV and you can keep quiet about my urbexing."

"Urbex-ing?" Shinji repeated.

"Urban Exploration." Kensuke replied, "You'd be amazed at the kind of stuff's around in Tokyo-3 nobody even knows about! If you're interested, I could take you sometime. I've got nobody to go with really… and I know the class rep would rip me a new one if she knew about it."

Class rep. "You mean Hikari?"

"You know her?" Kensuke asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Shinji said and looked into the fire, "I really wanted to talk to her today. Things…got bad. A-And I lost my phone."

The sound of Velcro ripping made Shinji look up to see Kensuke offering his phone. "Wanna use mine?"

* * *

The drumming of angry hornets made Hikari jump in her bed. When it happened again she fumbled in the darkness for her desk lamp, clicking the thing on as she realized it was her phone. She winced, and glanced at the number. Sighing in disgust, she opened the phone and said into it tiredly, "Kensuke, why are you calling at 11 at night?"

"I-It's me Hikari," The other voice said.

"SHINJI!" Hikari cried out, bolt upright and awake now, "Where are you? I was worried about you and-"

"It's all right!" Shinji replied, "I-I met up with Kensuke. I'm borrowing his phone."

Hikari winced. "What's Kensuke doing? Where are you guys?"

"Just out. Listen… I-I want to talk to you about today. You got a minute?"

"Shinji," Hikari said, "Your message made me concerned. What's going on? What's happened?"

"It's… It's a long story."

"I think you want to get it off your chest."

A pause. "I-I'm not sure if I can explain it without getting into trouble…"

"You work for NERV or something, don't you?"

"…Y-Yes."

"I tried calling your phone. Doctor Akagi answered it. She's been looking for you."

Silence from the other end.

"…Shinji?"

"I-I'm here."

"What's wrong?"

Shinji's tone sounded dismal. "I don't know what I did wrong! I was trying to be nice to someone and I got punished for it! I didn't do anything!"

"Slow down!" Hikari said, "One at a time. Who was it?"

"…Asuka… a… girl I know. She's living on instant Ramen and Coffee because she's studying her brains out. Her mom is real mean to her too."

Hikari had met people like that, but grimaced at the notion of living off of instant Raman, good as it was. "What happened?"

"…I cooked dinner for her one day."

"Aww, that's sweet of you. How did you get in trouble doing that?"

"I don't know! I-I guess her mom hated the fact that I interrupted her studying!"

Anal mothers. Hikari sighed. "I see…"

"But I wasn't really getting in the way or anything! I don't understand it, Asuka never said anything about it and I never did anything wrong! And then when she was hurt I went to the hospital with gifts and her mom was there…"

Hikari heard him crying. "Shinji?" She asked, her tone gentle but with the ring of concern.

"I-I g-got her gifts-" sniff "A-And she ripped them out of my h-hands and t-told me I-I-I couldn't s-s-see Asuka anymore. Doctor's orders!"

"Doctor? Do you mean Akagi?"

"N-No…" Sniff. "Asuka's mom is a doctor."

"But why?"

Sniff. "I was getting in A-Asuka's way."

This didn't make any sense. "So Asuka's mom told you to leave her alone because you were interrupting her studies with dinner?"

"Y-Yeah… and now I have to move in with some woman to keep an eye on me because they don't trust me!"

"…Oh Shinji…"

Shinji sniffed. "I-I didn't know what to do. I hated it… it's just like my aunt and uncle's place. It's a pigsty and… and… I feel like I'm being dumped on them. Like I'm a problem nobody wants to deal with."

Sizing up the situation, Hikari sighed. Then she said, "Doctor Akagi doesn't seem to feel that way. She's looking for you right now Shinji."

Sniff. "Yeah, p-probably to dump me back at th-that place. I don't wanna go back."

"But she seems to be someone in authority, right? Maybe she can help you."

"…I dunno…"

"Well you'll know if you try, right?"

Sniff. "I wish I could see you in person."

Hikari felt touched. "Well, you'll see me tomorrow in class, right?"

"Is school happening tomorrow?"

"I think so," Hikari replied, "I wasn't told it was canceled. We'll have to find out tomorrow, ok?"

"…Ok."

"Shinji," Hikari said, "Doctor Akagi wanted me to call her in case I had any word from you. Is it ok to call her and tell her where you are?"

"…Sure."

* * *

"Made it pretty far, didn't he?" Aoba said as they drove along the road.

Ritsuko's eyes looked at the structure growing in the distance. The irony of the whole situation forced her to close her eyes. _But this is for Shinji_, she thought _could you really bear to deny how you feel about him, now that you actually know him?_

"There he is!" Maya uttered in a hushed whisper. Two boys were seated next to the road just beyond the abandoned building of the artificial evolution institute. Aoba stopped the car, and Ritsuko got out. "Shinji?" She asked.

Shinji got up and approached Ritsuko. The two stopped within arm's reach of each other.

"I-I'm sorry." Shinji uttered.

"Apology accepted," Ritsuko replied, "Though it really should be Miss Katsuragi you should be apologizing to."

Shinji looked away.

"Do you want to go back?" Ritsuko asked.

"No." Shinji replied.

"Then where will you go?"

"I don't know. Somewhere." He grunted.

Ritsuko crossed her arms. "Would you rather come back with me and sleep in my office again? It's not much, but It's better than camping out here."

"Hey," Kensuke groaned, taking exception.

Shinji considered it. "I… I think I'd like that."

Ritsuko smiled.

Maya, who had been slowly approaching behind Ritsuko, stepped forward. "Shinji?"

Shinji turned and accepted Maya's hug, Ritsuko standing back to allow her subordinate to embrace the boy. Shinji was a little overtaken by the affection he was given, but it was welcome.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" The technician was crying into his shoulder.

Kensuke just shook his head. "Some guys…"

"And you are?" Ritsuko asked as she approached.

"Uer…. Kensuke Aida." Kensuke replied, "I was camping out when-"

"You're Torochi's son, aren't you?"

"…Yes?" Kensuke asked, his tone betraying a feeling of discovery.

Ritusko crossed her arms. "Strange of you to be camping so close to NERV property."

"Heheh… My dad recommends the greatest camp sites!"

"I see. Perfect for inquisitive young minds I suppose."

Kensuke swallowed.

"Just be careful not to prod too deeply, Mister Aida. Goodnight." Ritsuko said to the boy before turning around and walking back to the car, where Shinji was being escorted in.

After they were gone, Kensuke cursed. He turned around and headed back up to his place to decamp, watching the shadows for Men In Black.


	10. Etching I

X

Etching I

* * *

Shinji awoke with a start, sucking in a breath to make the first word of today. "Uhnn…"

"Wake up," A voice said softly as the owner shook him gently.

Shinij's eyes peeked open and he moved on the cot instinctively to rub them of sleep. He blinked in the light while trying to recognize who it was standing over him. Lab coat… blond hair… "Doctor Akagi," he grunted and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Early," Ritsuko said as-a-matter-of-factly, "I figured you could use the time to wake up and get ready for school. I'm sure you don't want to go without cleaning up first."

Shinji grumbled while taking up a seating position on the couch. He was still dressed in the same clothes from three days prior, with the sweater he bought last night. He did feel kind of scummy. "Ugh…"

"You have enough time to go down to the cages if you want a real shower, though I regret to say you're forbidden from taking your plugsuit to school."

"I know…" he grunted, stood, and stretched. He yawned again and his eyes went around the room, passing over Ritsuko's desk and-

He froze as he saw the photograph.

Ritsuko watched with curiosity as he approached it and leaned closer to it. "I-Is… Is that my… mom and dad?" Shinji asked.

The doctor didn't reply immediately, but after a moment she said, "Yes Shinji, that is your mother and father."

Shinji blinked as he looked over the same photograph he had seen in the abandoned building- only this one was treated with care and considerably clearer. A smile graced his mother's face, and his father had a small curl to his lips to make it look like he was at least attempting to be pleasant. The absence of glasses made the effort look genuine… a different person.

His eyes flicked to Kyoko Zeppelin and she too, looked different. Her eyes were ones of a smile, a big toothy grin on her face and none of the crows feet and other lines of agitation on her features. The man beside her, likely her husband, was the obvious source of Asuka's red hair and chiseled jaw-line. He too was also smiling, though with a kind of predatory expression as well. What had happened to him?

"You're in this picture too…" Shinji observed, "Who is that next to you?"

"My mother." Ritsuko said with a strange tone, walking next to Shinji and removing the photograph from the holder attached to the rim of the shelving unit. She held it with her own hands in the light and considered it. "This was taken ten years ago, before some of the first experiments began with the Evangelions."

Ten years ago? Shinji wondered where he was at the time this picture was taken.

"You'd better hurry to the cages if you want to get that shower." Ritsuko said.

Shinji saw a clock. He only had an hour. "A-Ah!"

He made it to the door, hurried out, but then came back. "D-Doctor?"

"Down the hall, go left, find an elevator. Floor 18, right, and it will take you to a familiar corridor."

Shinji nodded, trying to memorize that, and hurried off.

Ritsuko sighed as she seated herself in her chair while holding the photograph. She looked at her mother again, thinking back…

It was getting worse. She put the photograph back on the place it was supposed to go, and rubbed her face. Sighing, she forced herself to pull open the particular plan she was going to enact today. "Well," She uttered to herself, "If I won't deny it, I should have no problem with this."

Evangelion 02's repair schedule was on the screen.

* * *

Shinji fortunately managed to remember the directions and hurried into the suit lockers. He hesitated after entering though, wondering if either Rei or Asuka were already inside. After cautiously checking their lockers and finding both plug suits present, he sighed with relief and ducked into the showers.

There was soap, but it was a coarse orange-colored soap that was grimy to the touch. Figuring it was likely to be used to scrub off LCL, the worst it could do was clean him thoroughly and he used it on his hair and parts of his body. As he finished the water he hoped he had cleaned all of it off…

He dressed again in the same clothes and hurried out of the lockers. He hoped he could-

Asuka was standing in the doorway of the locker rooms.

Shinji screeched to a stop on the tile floor. The two of them just stared at one another.

The thought of Kyoko standing outside, ready to pound him, was in his head. He couldn't find words. Both of them stared at one another, pulses beginning to climb and skin beginning to pale as both considered what Doctor Zeppelin would do about this.

Finally, Asuka uttered softly, "Go."

Shinji winced as he stepped around her and broke into a run, fleeing the room and leaving Asuka alone. The girl didn't move for a minute as conflict broke free inside of her again, the ooze of betraying that boy and pushing him into this state…

Get dressed. The order was from her mother and Doctor Akagi.

Jerkily she moved to the locker that was hers.

* * *

It was the latest that Shinji had arrived to class. He also arrived without his homework. What a way to start the second week of school…

He didn't know how he felt exactly as he approached the classroom. Groggy, uncoordinated, but even before he reached the door to room 2-A someone was there to greet him. "Shinji?"

Looking up, he saw it was Hikari. "Hikari…"

She intercepted him just before the front door. "I wasn't sure you were going to make it! You had me worried there, for a moment."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to be," she replied, "It sounds like you were having a tough time over the weekend. I guess the evacuations didn't help either."

Shinji tried to remember the excuse he came up with during the long walk yesterday to protect his identity as a pilot. But then, since Hikari knew… "Hikari…"

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell anyone… that I work for NERV. I-I'd rather not have it get around…"

"I see." Hikari replied, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Now let's get to class!"

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him after her into the classroom, dropping it just before passing through the door itself. Though that might have otherwise stopped people from gossiping, the fact that Shinji was blushing as he entered the classroom was cause for speculation among the female members of the class.

* * *

Asuka Soryu Langly, the red-headed Second Child, sat with her red-and-black plug suit on in the red-and-black plug of the red-and-black Evangelion Unit, under the red-and-black sigil of NERV.

It wasn't just the prominent colors in the cage that made Ritsuko feel the hostility of the environment. It was also from the looks and the attitudes of some of the cage personnel here. Unit 02 had shipped with some of the technical staff that had overseen the construction and early testing of the Evangelion in Germany- some of which were handpicked by doctor Zeppelin herself. If for no other reason than a sense of national pride, the glances from the German Technicians were no doubt in response to the unspoken accusation that they hadn't done their jobs properly.

But they were NERV employees above everything else, and order from command couldn't be interpreted differently despite nationalities. The order was to conduct full and extensive tests on Evangelion 02 to assure that it had healed from the drilling attack two days prior.

And as supervisor of all technology and equipment pieces under NERV jurisdiction (the Evangelions in particular), Ritsuko Akagi was mandated to supervise the tests in their entirety.

There was no provision to exclude Kyoko Zeppelin, however. As the director of medical and health issues, she could (and did) use her authority to be present at the test. Ritsuko knew it was to be sure Ritsuko wasn't fudging the numbers and furthering their argument. It would make things more difficult, to be sure, but Ritsuko was hoping to unearth more than a green light from Evangelion unit 02 today.

"All static tests completed," Maya said from her terminal. The layout of the cage operations deck was mirrored from that in Cage two… instead of on the Evangelion's right shoulder, the windows and deck were looking over Asuka's left.

Ritsuko, standing behind the main consoles, only nodded and examined the data on a tablet she had procured. She leaned casually against another bank of consoles.

"We're wasting time." Kyoko said from the back of the room, arms crossed.

"These are delicate tests, Doctor." Ritsuko said, rolling down the information from the static test with a finger, "Evangelions are just as advanced as the human body, if not more so, and the risks of something going wrong with them are much greater than mere discomfort or pain. I'm sure you remember that."

How could anyone forget the prototype going berserk? "Eva unit 02 is the most advanced Eva unit on this premises."

"Let me be the judge of that." Ritsuko replied, then focused back on the static test results. Before Kyoko could compose a reply she leaned up. "Static tests are all satisfactory. Now the fun begins. Prepare Entry Plug for injection."

A short siren wailed in the cage as the Entry Plug was released from the grasp of the housing and propelled into the back of the Evangelion. The panels at the neck of the Evangelion closed over the hatchway and completed the unit.

"Hatch closed." Was announced.

Maya nodded at her terminal, "Beginning entry plug charge. LCL content is pure. Beginning fill."

Ritsuko moved across the line of monitors to a place where she could monitor the plug progress. She glanced down at her tablet to look at the general status summary of the Evangelion. No change so far.

She looked up. "Discriminate area 14 on monitor C."

This area was the zone where the beam hole had gone through and nearly punctured the Evangelion. The tissue had been repaired, and the neural connections _should_ have been repaired properly, but part of the reason this test was being performed to see if the nerve connections had repaired properly. It would be a messy issue to dig them out and start all over again if they malformed for some reason.

Maya announced, "LCL fill complete. Beginning interlink."

The plug would be flashing with lights by now, but Ritsuko's interest was on the area. She glanced between monitor C and her tablet, which was showing a general display for the Evangelion's nerve connections. There was some fluctuation to be expected as Asuka was connecting to the machine.

"Interlink processes A and B completed. Beginning C."

The neural lines were showing activity finally- long lines of yellow, green, and red were shifting and flexing along the Evangelion's status board. Ritsuko glanced up at Monitor C again, which was showing the lines in finer detail and the nerve nodes they were connected to.

They were still grey.

"Area 14," one of the technicians reported, "Showing no sign of response."

Ritsuko blinked and leaned forward to a microphone. "Asuka, can you hear me?"

"Yes Doctor Akagi."

"How does your right shoulder feel?"

A pause. "Numb."

Maya turned. "Maybe if we waited a while?"

Ritsuko looked back up at the monitors. She could see some creep on the response lines, though it wasn't nearly as fast enough as she'd like.

"The tissue's dead," Kyoko toned from behind her.

"I will be the one to decide that." Ritsuko replied.

Kyoko crossed her arms.

Ritsuko turned to one of the technicians, "Prepare the armor plate to conduct a low-grade electic shock to the affected area. Just enough to cause a muscle spasm, and on my command. Asuka?" She depressed the control for the microphone again, "The healed muscle is showing little response to the nerve connections. We are going to try stimulating it. You might feel some discomfort."

"I'm ready." Asuka replied.

Ritsuko glanced over at the synchronization level on one of the monitors. 30.4%. She frowned a little, but at least it told her she wouldn't be sensitive enough to feel anything real serious from what they were about to do.

"Ready." The technician announced.

"Go."

There was a slight shudder through the cages as the Evangelion's shoulder muscles worked against the cage.

"Damage?" Ritsuko asked.

"Minimal to structure," Another technician near the back reported, "2% flex on superstructure, no serious compromises."

Ritsuko looked up at the terminal. The lines had increased into the affected area. "Looks like it just needed some stimulation. Warm up another charge."

The process was repeated and the hangar shook a little more. The lines for the nerve feeds were still in the yellow, contrasting to the ones in green on the Eva's left shoulder.

"Another one?" Maya asked.

"No…" Ritsuko replied as she thought over procedure, "When we're finished here and Asuka's out, I want someone to go and get some muscle tissue sample of the area."

Kyoko toned, "But the area works, doesn't it? You're showing over 50% feed. Maybe a workout will make it function properly."

"This could be a sign of a defect in the healed tissue," Ritsuko said, "Or a disease affecting the Evangelion. I have to be thorough if I'm to assure the commander a fully-functional Evangelion, Doctor."

"A disease?" Kyoko voiced while standing, "Be realistic doctor, there's no such thing! Evangelions have the strongest immune system we've ever seen in a biological organism!"

"Perhaps that was the belief when you created unit 02, Doctor Zeppelin." Ritsuko replied without facing Kyoko, "But all that may have changed when the Angels appeared."

"Nothing's come across my desk suggesting-"

"It has come across mine, Doctor." Ritsuko replied, now facing Kyoko, "And I am mandated to investigate every possibility, per orders from the commander. Is that understood?"

Kyoko's gaze was a dire one, but slowly she sat down. Ritsuko turned back to the testing.

"Let's keep an eye on that area while we begin other tests. We'll start with extremity signal strength on the right arm. One node at a time. Asuka?"

"Yes doctor?"

"You're going to be in there for a while. Just sit and make yourself comfortable while we proceed. We will break in two hours if you need it."

"Understood."

Ritsuko terminated the audio feed and glanced over at Maya's panel, where the girl was monitoring the synchronization scores as the test had been proceeding.

* * *

With everything that happened over the weekend school felt like an entirely different universe.

It was bad enough he felt the stares of some of his classmates for coming in with his clothes looking scruffy. Without being washed in two days, he imagined they didn't smell good either. The homework was turned in and he couldn't avoid feeling sheepish for not having it- no matter the excuse.

That wasn't the end of it though. Firstly, after going through the doorway and entering the classroom, he was oddly aware that Rei was watching him. When he met her gaze it lasted for about a second before she looked away. It was the only time Shinji could recall when she was interested in something other than the weather outside.

Then there was Kensuke Aida, who gave Shinji a wave when Shinji took his seat. He hadn't glanced back since, but was starting to fear the worst since Touji was back, still with an indignant look on his face. He could only wonder what was in store for today.

He had no idea.

Laptops were passed around as the class, today, was going to dither in computer science while the teacher droned on about how computers were so much more primitive in his time… or something. Sighing Shinji moved through the instructions, grateful at least that there was something to do today other than be bored and listen to the teacher.

He wasn't aware of the classroom-wide chat until a window popped up.

"Ikari, Do You Work For NERV?"

Shinji blinked, and instinctively turned to look back at Aida. The boy was furiously typing away at something, and Shinji couldn't tell if he was the sender or not. Shinji decided to ignore it and continue with his work.

"Do You Work For NERV Or Not?"

He closed the window on the computer and tried to focus back on the assignment. The program slowed down noticeably as the chat window opened up again.

"Do You?"

Shinji looked at the computer. It was a Mac. He had been used to PCs at his aunt and uncle's house, and didn't know the equivalent of control, alt, delete to pull up the task manager. If he could, he'd find a way to END PROCESS on the chat manager and make it go away. As it was, there was nothing on the bottom dock to suggest which program was the chat window.

"Do You?"

Obviously this clown wouldn't leave him alone. And of course, given how 'authoritative' this… 'teacher' was, he couldn't count on him cracking down on troublesome students who were doing something other than learning. He sighed, not sure how to answer this one.

"You do! You work for NERV! Don't deny it, what do you do there?"

"I don't work for NERV." He replied, wondering how to twist the truth to fit the lie. Maybe that excuse of being a guinea pig might actually come in handy-

"So what are you, an intern? Are you a pilot like Rei?"

Shinji looked over at Rei. The girl was typing on the computer without any apparent distraction. He sighed as he went back to the computer. He decided to try ignoring the sender again, but the window kept popping up, cutting off his coding mid-type and forcing him to move back to the assignment.

It was then that he was aware there was a lot more typing going on. Looking up, he saw looks in his direction from various places, accommodated with smiles and knowing glances.

Great.

* * *

Asuka had been laying back in the entry plug of her Evangelion for over an hour now, sitting with nothing to do. Rather than be bored, though, she was actually taking the time to close her eyes and try to rest, again. Though she was fully recovered from the shock of almost getting killed by the last angel attack… she hadn't slept well. Her mother this morning hadn't improved matters, since any deviation from the norm with her would result in extra scrutiny.

And now even Doctor Akagi had a magnifying glass on her, performing all these tedious tests. At least Asuka didn't have any class assignments coming up, and she was relieved to have passed the last exam by an acceptable margin of an A.

She had to cram for the next one though, even if it was weeks away.

Though this was no synchronization test she was aware of her feelings and the fact that they would be monitoring her. She tried to clear her thoughts, but the issues from yesterday and the news of what had happened to Shinji was still on her brain. News that he had run away from home didn't help much. Had he been found?

She considered asking, but dared not to. She felt the spike of fear in her psyche, and closed her eyes as she realized that would register on her psyche graph and synch scores. She waited for a moment there, expecting her mother's shrill voice over the communications system reprimanding her for being a bad girl.

As moments turned into minutes when nothing came she finally allowed herself to relax, drifting off and trying to think about the latest subjects in her physics courses. When she started to find gaps in her knowledge she started to make mental notes of what to go over.

Logic, logic…

She sighed from being tired and let her head rest on the back and closed her eyes. Her mind went back to her apartment, the kitchen, and the pot where Shinji's meal had been waiting for her to finish it. She only dimly saw his silhouette in the door before she lost track of time.

* * *

Ritsuko nodded. "That's all the nerve connections in the arm. I see…" She hesitated as the synchronization charts started to fluctuate. She looked over at Maya.

"The second child has fallen asleep." Maya reported.

Ritsuko heard Kyoko taking a breath but interrupted her, "Wait! What is her synch score right now?"

Maya read off the number. "Rising steadily. Passing 36.7%."

Ritsuko turned, "This is surprising. Then again, nobody's ever performed a synchronization test on someone unconscious."

"We will need to wake her to proceed with the testing." Kyoko toned.

"I think this is most interesting." Ritsuko countered, "And I feel this little unscheduled development needs to be studied."

"Akagi-"

Ritsuko whirled. "Doctor Zeppelin, unless you feel there is danger to the pilot, please do not interrupt the proceedings. This is my department, under my jurisdiction. I feel this opportunity should be taken advantage of while we have it. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the commander. Though after recent events I doubt he nor Doctor Ikari would be in the mood to indulge any more of your requests."

Kyoko frowned. "This 'development' is worthless. The Evangelion pilots will never be at a state of rest while synchronized with their Evangelion units!"

"The commander and the Lt. General will decide that." Ritsuko toned, "Besides, this facility is no stranger to needless mandates. At least mine is not maternally influenced."

Ritsuko intercepted the hand that was swung to slap her. Her gaze was level with Kyoko's. "Don't tell me how to do my job, Doctor." Ritsuko uttered coldly.

Kyoko pulled her hand out of Ritsuko's grasp, and after a scathing glance she departed the room at a brisk pace.

Ritsuko let the door closed.

"Well then," Ritsuko sighed, "That's better. Maya, what is the second child's synch ratios?"

Maya blinked, still stunned by the exchange, before the words caught up with her. "Oh! Er…" She blinked again, studied the graph, and hesitated before reporting, "Still rising. Now passing 38.3%

"I thought as much." Ritsuko said and stepped up to the glass, "Let's give her fifteen minutes rest. Are you recording all of this, Maya?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Very good. Let's move on to some more passive tests without waking her. Continue study."

* * *

Lunch was never noteworthy or special before now. Then again, neither was today.

But when the bell rang Shinji was immediately ambushed by his classmates, eager for an excuse to press him with questions. Eager eyes and interested faces all turned to his desk, many getting up, and they were so fast Shinji didn't have time to respond.

"What's it like there?"

"What do they do all the time?"

"Why is it so super-secret?"

"Do you get to see the giant robots?"

Why hadn't Rei been given this treatment? Maybe she had, but Rei was as responsive as any other kind of rock. Looking for her for support, Shinji was honestly surprised to see her still seated there, staring at him.

"All right!" Hikari's voice toned, "Break it up! C'mon, give him some space!"

The students all turned their heads to see the Class rep making her way through the people to Shinji's desk. Coming beside the table, she looked around at the circle, and then said, "Let's go."

A ripple of giggle from the back made them turn both of their heads. Some of the girls were blushing. Hikari frowned deeper as she made her way to the door, Shinji following.

Once they were gone the girls broke down. "Oh I knew it!"

"You think they're gonna make out on the roof or something?"

"I hear he was out around last night looking for a spot…"

"oooohhh!"

Kensuke Aida, leaning back in his seat, just sighed.

Touji glared at the ceiling.

Rei got up and started for the door, unnoticed by a classroom descending into gossip.

* * *

"Here," She said, offering him a rice roll.

Shinji took it and played with it with his fingers for a bit, staring into it in thought.

The two of them were seated under a tree in one of the quads of the campus. An overcast sky was threatening rain but so far neither of them were concerned yet. And so far nobody else had found them.

After taking a few bites and not seeing him eat his, Hikari finally asked him, "How are you feeling?"

That seemed to work, and he took a breath and admitted with his eyes widening, "Winded."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He sighed. "I'm not sure how much I can talk about it Hikari… orders and everything."

Hikari blinked while she stared at him. She knew that he had some connection to NERV, since a NERV official had asked her about him, though nothing much beyond that. "I guess the reason why I didn't see you at the shelters was because you were busy during the attack."

"Oh! That….uh…." Shinji tried to remember his excuse.

"Shinji you don't need to deceive me."

Shinji returned to his crestfallen position. He played with the rice ball in his hands for another moment. "I guess…" he said, "It's just…"

"There he is!" Both of them heard, and both turned their heads to spot some students hiding beside the corner of the building.

"Oh God," Hikari uttered, "Seriously don't they have anything better to gossip about? Come on," She packed up her lunch, stood again, and started off in another direction. Shinji took a bite of the rice-ball as he followed her.

They left the quad, passed some buildings, and started down a stairway to the basketball courts.

"So who is Asuka?" Hikari asked as they walked.

"A… A friend." Shinji said.

"A coworker?"

"Something like that." He admitted, taking another bite of the rice ball. "She's our age, but she's in college."

"What?"

"I'm serious! And she spends most of her time, cramped up in her apartment, eating nothing but instant ramen and coffee!"

Hikari kicked a the ground, "It's not all that bad…"

"All the time? Nothing else? Tastes like plastic."

"Did you add the seasoning?'

"…That's not the point." Shinji replied, "It's the fact that she's cooped up, studying, and everything! I… I felt sorry for her. And she was my neighbor at the apartment I was living in so…I… decided to do something nice and offered her dinner."

"Her mother had a problem with it?"

"Yeah…"

As both of them reached the edge of the basket ball field they looked back along their previous path. Though they didn't see anyone, they exchanged glances and turned another corner to keep walking in another direction. Shinji went on, "And then stuff happened at the base. Her mom just kept getting on her case about studying and… and other stuff, at work. I guess I was hurting her performance or something."

"Her mother sounds really hard on her."

"Well, her mom is a kind of important person at NERV too. She forbade me from ever seeing Asuka again and had me evicted from my apartment."

"Just because you live in the same building?" Hikari asked.

"I guess." Shinji replied and bit off another thing of rice. He sighed.

They both rounded another corner but stopped to see someone standing there, as if expecting them. "Rei?" Shinji asked.

Ayanami just stared back.

* * *

That humm.

Asuka opened her eyes as the dream dissolved. She had been somewhere… someplace calm. It was with someone she knew, but had seemed to have lost in the past. A field… flowers…a voice…

"Asuka? Are you awake?"

Asuka sat up and identified where she was. Entry Plug, Evangelion 02. "Sorry I… I guess I dozed off."

"That's ok. I decided to monitor your progress. Your mother stepped out."

"What?" Asuka reacted, suddenly grasping the butterfly handlebars.

A pause. Then Doctor Akagi's voice came back on, "Relax Asuka, your mother isn't here."

"Where did she go?"

"Let's just say her presence here weren't essential. How does your arm and shoulder feel?"

Asuka took a moment to lean away from the back cushions, feeling her muscles tense. She waited to see if she felt the tingling there from earlier. Shaking her head she said, "Fine. I have feeling there."

In the control cabin, Maya looked up from the negative spike in Asuka's synch ratios to Ritsuko. The doctor only nodded, "That's good. We're showing that the nerves there are starting to function again, just a little slower than expected. I wanted to see what your scores were like when you were sleeping."

"I-I see…"

"Now, before we begin some more extensive tests, do you want a break?"

"…I think I'm good for now."

"All right. We're going to begin general orientation checks in a few moments." She glanced at Maya, "By the way, you might be interested to know that your current synch scores are hovering around 40.2%."

"What?"

"They were higher when you were asleep." Ritsuko replied, "You passed even Shinji there for a moment."

A dip. Maya shook her head.

"Doctor… can I ask you something?" Asuka asked.

"Of course."

"Is Shinji all right?"

Ritsuko blinked. "He's fine physically, though you could ask your mother about any specifics on his health."

A dip.

"I meant did he get home safely."

"In a manner of speaking." Ritsuko replied, "He's not homeless under a bridge if that is your concern."

A rise.

"Thank you Doctor."

Ritsuko tilted her head. "Are you concerned about him?"

"…A little."

"He would be glad to know you feel that way. Given everything else that's happened to him I think Shinji needs all the friends and assurance he can get right now."

"I'm sorry for what happened."

"It's not your fault." Ritsuko replied, watching the synch, "I don't think Shinji blames you, and I don't think you should blame yourself either."

A rise. "Really?"

"Some things are beyond our control, Asuka. The best you can do is react to the changes when they come and hope for the best."

More rising. "I see."

Ritsuko nodded to Maya. "Well, now that I see you're feeling better, how about we continue with the testing?"

* * *

A light mist was falling over the campus now, and it was enough to drive whatever students pursued them into shelter. As he glanced at his watch, Shinji figured they'd have a half hour for whatever gossip to churn while they were away. He sighed.

They were in an alcove of a stairway that lead up to one of the science labs. It wasn't likely anyone would ever approach these buildings for several reasons. The first was that Shinji didn't know anyone who liked science. The second was, the buildings were closed. Shinji never saw them open. The third was that Shinji honestly believed that there were only a handful of students on the entire campus.

"You sure you don't want any more of this?" Hikari asked him, taking him away from the musings of the empty school.

"You don't want any more?"

"Shinji, I know you haven't packed anything for lunch." Hikari said, giving him a sympathetic look.

Shinji's stomach answered for him. "T-thanks…" He uttered, taking the boxed lunch from her and working on it's contents.

"If I knew you wouldn't have been prepared, I would have packed something." Hikari replied.

Shinji was looking at Rei now, because the girl had not taken her eyes off of him ever since they settled here. "Rei, why are you staring at me?"

"Does it bother you?"

"No, I'm just curious." Shinji replied, even though he was a little bit uneasy that someone was watching him eat.

"I am likewise curious about you." Rei replied, "Twice you have expressed concern for me and acted when it was not required. I am puzzled by this."

"Puzzled?" Hikari repeated, "What's so strange about that? He was worried about you!"

"But the concern in both instances was unnecessary."

"Both instances?" Hikari repeated, turning her head to Shinji, "I guess one of them was with Touji, but the other-"

"Work." Shinji replied. He looked to Rei and answered her, "Because I was worried! I don't like the idea of you getting hurt, that's all."

"Your expression during the incident suggests your motivations were beyond simple concern for me." Rei said.

Hikari gave Shinji a look. He scowled at her, "its' not that! I…" He sighed and looked down at the pavement, and then up at the sky. He didn't want Hikari to get in trouble… but then… how much could she tell her?

"Shinji?" Hikari asked.

"I… I thought Rei was dead." Shinji explained, recalling that moment in the entry plug when he entered it, "She wasn't moving or breathing or anything. I had to pry her out of…" He swallowed, "Out of where she was to get at her. She wasn't moving… I-I didn't like the idea that there wasn't something I could do to save her."

"What motivated you to come for me?" Rei replied.

Shinji looked down at her. "You jumped in to save me when it mattered, didn't you?"

"I was ordered, and it was the only means to complete the mission."

"Mission?" Hikari repeated.

Shinji swallowed and looked down at the pavement.

"You are a pilot," Hikari realized slowly, "Both of you, it's true isn't it?"

"Hikari…"

"Shinji," She hissed, "I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"How did the rest of the class find out about me?" Shinji asked, looking at Rei, "About us?"

"Shinji!" Hikari said, grabbing his hand, "I swear to you I didn't tell anyone!"

Shinji looked into the distance. "Someone else knew about me being in NERV."

Rei blinked.

* * *

"All checks completed." Maya reported, "Fully body static testing shows no anomalies."

"Very good." Ritsuko said and glanced at the clock. She looked back at the monitors. "Asuka?"

"Yes?"

"Before we go I want to try a synchronization test. Is that all right with you?"

"…My mother usually supervises those tests."

"Then how about we save her a little time and perform one now? It won't take too long."

"…I'm not sure my mother would like this-"

"Then let me deal with her." Ritsuko said, glancing down at the German technicians. They were already surprised to see their darling pilot performing _much_ better under Doctor Akagi than under Zeppelin. It was hard to argue in the face of facts at this point. None of them said anything, but kept their eyes on the equipment.

"…Okay."

Ritsuko looked over to Maya, who nodded and started a separate recording instrument. "All right," The Doctor said, "Now just relax."

In the humming cockpit of the Evangelion Asuka hesitated. She looked through the cockpit of her Evangelion, up at the observation deck just off the Evangelion's left shoulder. She didn't see the shape of her mother anywhere, and the doors looked like they were closed.

Sighing out a breath she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift again. The whirlpool of expression, slow and undulating. She sighed another, smaller breath.

Her mind returned to that evening again, when Shinji came over and offered casserole. This time she let her mind wander in the simulation, turning off the cellular phone-call from her mother and letting the night play out as she imagined it.

Her mind presented a set of pictures. Maybe Shinji would have been curious about her studies- and she'd try to explain them. Of course they'd be way over his head, but he'd be interested and try to learn them anyway. She'd be surprised he followed some of it, and while she had to cover the concepts again he was showing genuine interest.

Maybe the subject would change to cooking, since she wasn't TOO bad herself. She'd ask him what he used, and he'd probably go over it. Maybe they'd move to the kitchen and talk about favorite recipes. She'd ask about decorating the apartment, offering some advice and the discussion would turn to how she treated her place. Maybe the subject would go to WHY she moved out…

"Asuka," Akagi said, "Back up, you were doing fine."

…Right, she moved away from that subject as mind-Shinji saw her distressed. He'd laugh and talk about his origins, where he came from and how HE ended up here as a pilot! Maybe he'd talk about his parents, how he was neglected too and maybe the reason.

She'd then ask how she could be so concerned for someone he had never met before.

He'd smile and say that was his nature.

Asuka sighed out another breath and found herself totally relaxed in the cockpit. The whirlpool was slow, blue, and milky. There was no violence or panic on the horizon.

"Asuka?"

"Yes doctor?"

"…Your synch ratio is at 45.4%."


	11. Etching II

XI  
Etching II

It wasn't hard to stop Kensuke after class. But it was hard to separate him from his friend.

"This isn't anything to do with that NERV crap is it?" Touji asked, glaring down at Hikari.

Hikari wasn't afraid of the jock, but only because she had the authority of a class representative. Shinji already knew Touji hit girls. "It is school business." Hikari said to Touji, "We must have a discreet conference with Mister Aida."

Touji gave a look at her, then Shinji, but didn't even look at Rei on the way out. After he was gone, the door closed on its own. Hikari faced Kensuke.

"A-Am I in trouble?" He asked.

"Why did you tell someone I was in NERV?" Shinji asked.

"I-I didn't I-"

Hikari crossed her arms. Shinji went on, "Somehow the whole class figured out I was in NERV. I didn't want anyone to know!"

"And I didn't tell anyone!"

"What did you say!" Shinji countered.

Kensuke, already leaning back in his seat, replied with an edge of panic, "I just said I ran into you last night and some NERV cars came to pick you up. That's all! I figured your folks got you with the company car, or something."

"Did you say that?" Shinji demanded.

"No!… Well… maybe…"

Shinji sighed while Hikari blasted, "Aida didn't you even think about what this lot would come up with if they had that information!"

"But nobody's been hurt!" Kensuke replied.

"Rei was!" Hikari shrilled as she pointed at the girl.

"T-that's just Touji…" Kensuke uttered, slumping into the desk.

"I don't wanna hear 'just Touji' when I'm in the hospital." Shinji replied.

"Hey! Touji might hurt people but he'd never get that violent!"

"Sorry, He only punches girls and hates everything related to NERV." Shinji replied, side-glancing at the door as he recalled the memory of Touji's look when he figured it was 'NERV stuff'.

"You blame him?" Kensuke replied, "His sister was squashed in the first attack by an Eva! I wouldn't be too happy if I lost someone like that!"

Hikari lowered her head to think about her own sister, Nozomi, who had also been killed in that attack.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Shinji asked, a little exasperated "Let him hit me when he feels like it?"

"No," Hikari replied. She stepped forward, "But I think it's too late to do anything about this now. If Touji wants to hurt or threaten you Shinji, you can call me and I'll deal with it."

"O-Okay…" Shinji replied, "But I don't have your number in my-"

Hikari held out her hand. Shinji put her phone in it as she said to Kensuke, "Kensuke, I don't want you encouraging anyone else about this."

"Hey," Kensuke replied, "It's hands off from me!"

"Good." She said and flipped open Shinji's phone.

"Hey, Ikari," Kensuke said, stopping Shinji from turning away. Shinji looked back at him. "I'm sorry… really, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Yeah well," Shinji said, "You can make it up to me by not letting Touji or whoever he is from breaking my arm or something. People at NERV already hate my guts and I don't want to give them anymore encouragement."

* * *

Asuka had finished using the restroom and was having a late lunch in the lounge adjacent to the cages when she saw Ritsuko walk in with Maya. The two were discussing something on a tablet, and crossed to the food dispenser.

"You think this will be enough?" Maya said.

"Maybe." Ritsuko replied, "As with all things pertaining to the Commander and his wife, the results cannot be predicted, only observed. Now, I think you wanted to go meet your man for lunch?"

Maya looked at her wristwatch, gave a hiccup and said, "I'm already late!"

"Be back within five minutes of the test and I won't say anything."

"Thank you doctor!" Maya replied and hurried off.

Ritsuko watched the girl go, then made Asuka jump by suddenly looking right at her. Asuka turned away, but the next time she gave a discreet look, the Doctor was already approaching.

"May I join you?" Ritsuko asked.

"Oh, please." Askua replied, setting aside her own tablet which had her e-books she was supposed to study.

Ritsuko spotted them while she took a seat across from the pilot. "May I?" She gestured to Asuka's tablet.

Asuka hadn't even let go of it and handed it to the doctor. Ritsuko set hers down and looked at Asuka's study materials. "Physics?"

"Yes, level three."

"I see. Studying to be like your mother?"

Asuka didn't say anything to that.

Ritsuko set the tablet aside and asked, "Do you want to see what mine has on it?"

Asuka's look betrayed her curiosity, and Ritsuko passed the tablet over after seeing her gaze. Asuka flipped it around and looked at it horizontally.

It was her test scores, cross-indexed with a time line. There had been notes on it as well. Asuka pinched at the screen and scrolled through it, reviewing her own synchronization information. "Am I allowed to see this?" She asked, looking up at Ritsuko.

Doctor Akagi shrugged. "As technical director I suppose I can give you clearance to see your own performance. Aren't you curious as to why you scored the way you did?"

"I remember…" Asuka trailed off, and then re-engaged her thoughts away from memories, "I remember Evangelions are sensitive to a pilot's state-of-mind."

"Apparently." Ritsuko replied.

"And that affects synchronization."

"Also, apparently."

Asuka looked back down at the data.

"If you ask me, I would say this gives someone an uncomfortable look into someone's psyche, if they knew what to look for." She took a hold of the tablet and Asuka released it. Ritsuko went on, "Comparing your synch scores from other, older tests I'd say we came across something that wildly and dramatically improved your scores. As Technical advisor, I suppose I'm required to inquire how this drastic improvement came about. It certainly wasn't anything pertaining to the technical side."

Asuka, putting the pieces together, uttered, "My mother would have to answer those questions since she is the director of pilot health and mental stability."

"She would also have to answer for why your performance improves dramatically when she is absent."

Asuka set the tablet down gently, her gaze going down to the table. She couldn't deny the obvious, but she dare not acknowledge it.

Ritsuko's arms remained crossed on the desk. "Asuka, I have to show this to Yui Ikari, and by extension the commander. Is there anything else you personally would like to add to the report?"

Asuka immediately saw the chance to make things right- admit her mother was the problem and put her into doubt. Maybe it could get Shinji re-instated at his place. Maybe he could be allowed to see her again!

…But then the thought of what her mother would do about this act of defiance followed the hope into her mind. Though this might get Shinji cleared from the stupid restriction, it would mean Asuka had challenged her mother's authority.

The last time that happened…

"Asuka?"

"I don't have anything to add!" Asuka wheezed, shuddering. She snatched her tablet and got up from the bench to run out of the lounge. Ritsuko turned to watch her go, and when she was gone she sadly turned back to the table. She reached across it to take the graph scores, sighed, and moved to start eating lunch.

* * *

Shinji didn't want to go… 'home'. He wasn't even sure where home was at this point. He decided to help Hikari after class, cleaning up the room and setting things to order. It was Monday and it had to be done.

Rei remained as well, and Shinji had the feeling she was staying for _him_. "Uh, Rei? Don't you have somewhere to go?" Shinji asked.

Rei had answered, "I have no obligations or duties until 1800 this afternoon."

Shinji glanced at his watch. 3:40. He sighed.

Hikari had long picked up on his distress, but couldn't find any words to say that could help him. Finally, once the class duties were completed, she announced "Shinji, I'm going to have to lock up the classroom."

"Yeah, I know." Shinji replied, getting up from his seat at a desk. Rei followed him to the door.

Hikari also moved to the door, clicked off the lights, then locked the door after closing it. She turned to Shinji, "So…um… Where are you going now Shinji?"

"I dunno… Somewhere… I guess." He lowered his head. "I-I don't want to go back to Misato's place…" _Because I'm too embarrassed_, he added to himself, _and because I still can't bear the idea of living there_. He grunted at his selfishness.

Hikari just stood beside him, and right then Shinji noticed how two the close of them were standing together. As he looked at her, her gaze slowly traveled up the collar of his shirt and into his eyes. Right then, he felt his cheeks get warm. She was very pretty… innocent eyes, girlish pigtails, and just the right size for a hug. He swallowed nervously, and somehow he could feel her excitement as well. He wondered what she…

But her head turned a subtle degree to the right, acknowledging Rei's presence. Shinji felt the moment evaporate and Hikari leaned away from him. Shinji turned his head to Rei.

The girl blinked as if nothing had happened.

"So uh…" Shinji uttered, "I guess… that's it?"

"Yeah…" Hikari responded nervously, but the two of them didn't move. Finally Hikari worked her jaw before saying, "U-um… Shinji… I do have some errands after school I need to take care of. I-If you like…. Um…"

Shinji stammered. "Well ah… I-I don't want to impose-"

"Shinji!" Hikari toned with a grin in her face, "_I'm_ asking _you_. You're not imposing."

Ikari looked at her as the words sunk in. He smiled. "I'd be happy to join you."

She smiled back, then turned to Rei, "Ah! Rei, you can come too if you want to."

"I will accompany you, Class Representative Hokari."

* * *

The tone of the Entry Plug had changed when Asuka returned to it. When she left, the thought of that pleasant night had been so fresh on her mind that she could have presumed it really happened. The Evangelion… had a way of doing that, she noticed. Now as she sat curled up on the seat of the cockpit, she loathed being there. It wasn't in the form of fear and tension as it had been with her mother… it was in the shape of the sickly green guilt, doubt, and disgust that was sitting on her chest now.

She sighed out another breath and hugged her knees closer to her chest, trying to fill her thoughts with the stuff she just studied for her next exam.

In the control center Ritsuko leaned away from the control panel where Maya was working. "38.5%…" The technician reported with a tone of sadness.

Ritsuko looked beyond the windows at the left side of the Evangelion's mask. Then she looked at the checklist for the preparations. "Let's begin with Procedure C."

Maya tapped in the commands, and after entering in the data and the program began to run she started to say, "She was so…"

"I know." Ritsuko replied as she jotted down figures on a tablet. When she was done she lowered it, "The best we can do is record data and facts, then present them to Doctor Ikari to draw her own conclusions."

"Will it be able to help Shinji?"

"I don't know…" Ritsuko replied, and then sighed out, "It's hard to tell with Doctor Ikari… I'm not hoping on any maternal decision on her part to get him out of the fix he is in."

"…She hasn't been very motherly at all." Maya uttered into her monitor.

"Doctor Ikari is perhaps one of the most dedicated individuals to NERV… at the expense of almost everything. The only exception I can think of is her husband. Even then…"

"Even then?"

"…Nothing." Ritsuko replied, "All right… all sections go. Begin."

Maya nodded. "Beginning plate tests."

Ritsuko blinked as she watched the armor plates begin their self-test procedures, making sure the Evangelion's musculature and skin was sealed against ABC environmental factors. It was standard procedure. She glanced at the cockpit feed, seeing Asuka curled up in the cockpit.

Sighing, she looked down at the clipboard.

* * *

The light mist from earlier in the day turned to rain when Rei, Hikari, and Shinji finally left the campus. As Rei neglected to bring an umbrella, Hikari insisted on sharing hers while Shinji used the hood on his sweater. The bus ride itself wasn't a problem, though for a moment Shinji recalled the times he was taking the bus back to his apartment. He had been alone then, but the place he was going to was his own…

It was a trade. He may have lost the apartment for now, but he enjoyed the company on this trip.

He didn't have much time to reminisce as Hikari frequently distracted his thoughts on the bus ride. "So, you didn't do the homework huh?"

"I-I didn't have time!" Shinji stammered, "A-And… And I think… I left it in my apartment."

"You really haven't been back since the attack?"

"N-No…" Shinji replied, recalling the last time he saw his door it was coated in angel blood. It was probably clear now, but he wasn't sure if the inside of the apartment was also 'cleaned out' during the decontamination. He didn't really want to find out.

"Well," Hikari said, "I'm lucky because my house is in the old part of the city. No blood, no radiation…" She turned to Shinji, "Was there really a radiation problem?"

Rei answered for him in a quiet voice, "Portions of the city in close proximity ot the beam were affected with varying degrees of radiation. The hardest areas affected were several high-rise structures downtown, which showed a maximum of 8.45 rads in 0.3% of the cityscape at high altitudes."

"W-Wow!" Hikari toned, impressed, "I didn't know you memorized those ah… facts Rei!"

"It was specified during the debriefing." Rei replied.

Shinji tried to recall any kind of debriefing, and then remembered Rei had been whisked away while he was allowed to collapse in the base. He probably never saw the information she did. He also thought about the PHASER fire through the targeting scanner… and the radiation bloom from the weapon. He wasn't aware any of those pulsing spikes hit the buildings… "Shinji?"

"Huh?" He turned his head and dropped out of his stupor to look at Hikari. The girl was smiling.

"Whatever the case, you helped save us from the Angel didn't you? Thank you."

"Uaher…" He uttered, "N-No problem?"

Hikari kept smiling.

Their stop came up soon enough and the three left the bus. The umbrella went up again and Shinji got his hood up before leaving the cover of the bus. The station had cover, but the parking lot in front of the supermarket didn't.

"Well," Hikari said, "Normally I can't bring everything because I can't carry it all, but now that Shinji's here I think I can get everything I need today!"

Shinji frowned as he imagined being press-ganged into carrying every kind of household commodity in the bulkiest packaging possible. "Uh… what DO you need?"

Hikari laughed.

"I require some items as well." Rei said.

"We can get them, no worries." Hikari replied.

They made it inside without getting run over in the parking lot, Shinji grabbing a shopping cart as the ladies pushed ahead. Though he wasn't a stranger to supermarkets, most of his shopping was usually done in smaller affairs. It still surprised him sometimes to see so much product placed in such a small space.

But then, this was Tokyo-3. Part of the appeal of this space-age city was that it had plenty enough to go around. Shinji blinked as he followed the ladies down the first of the aisles.

"All right…" Hikari said as they began in the produce section, "The question is what I want to make for dinner tonight…"

Shinji heard that. "Y-You cook?"

"Yes," She replied, "I've been doing all the cooking for my family ever since my mom passed away."

Shinji blinked. "I-I'm sorry…"

"She passed away a long time ago Shinji, It's all right." Hikari replied, staring at a rack of potatoes and looking thoughtful.

Shinji turned his head to see Rei advancing to a fruit rack of apples. Shinji turned back to Hikari, who was considering another stack of fruits. Shinji pushed the cart over to Rei. "E-Ever had apples before?" He asked.

"No." She replied.

"Well uhm… they're good." Was all he could say, already feeling this attempt at conversation was off to a bad start.

"They taste good?"

"Y-Yeah… I think so." Shinji replied, "Not really my favorite but I think they're ok."

Rei looked down at the price. "I would like to buy some."

"Uh…ok, um…" Shinji looked around, saw the typical plastic bags one packaged fruits with, and took one from the roll. "How many?"

"How many is a good number?"

Shinji blinked when he looked at her, and then considered the apples. "Well, if it were me I wouldn't get a lot of something unless I knew I liked it. How about three?"

"Three is good."

"Okay…" Shinji said and picked out three of the best looking apples. He secured the bag and moved to put in the cart. "One way I liked apples was when they were sliced."

"Sliced?"

"Something my aunt did," Shinji replied, "Apple slices with peanut butter for a snack."

Hikari's voice suddenly came in, "That doesn't sound bad actually. Could you get me some too, Shinji?"

"Sure." The boy replied.

Hikari put some onions into the cart. "Did your aunt do a lot of cooking Shinji?"

"Both of my…well… my aunt and uncle both did yeah." Shinji said as he grabbed another bag, and went on, "My aunt was American. She came up with all kinds of things to eat."

"Like what?"

"Uhm," Shinji replied, "Sandwiches, meat sometimes…" he shook his head as he tried to run through the things he typically liked, "Pasta, Casserole…" He put the second bag of apples in the cart, separate from Rei's, "Sometimes she'd just improvise."

Hikari smiled. "Sounds like your dinners were very interesting."

Shinji nodded, deciding not to mention that his aunt also consumed significant quantities of alcohol. "You can say that."

They started away from the produce section. "So," Hikari said, "If I were to ask you for any ideas on something to surprise my family, what would you suggest? Kodama wanted to try something western."

Shinji frowned. "I dunno… uhm… what do they like?"

"I want to surprise them." She said, suddenly stopping and turning around to look at him, "I know, what's the thing you last cooked?"

Shinji blinked, but it wasn't hard to find the answer. "I-I cooked seven-seas casserole… it's what I gave to Asuka…"

"Oh." Hikari replied, reading the story in Shinji's tone and expression. She smiled, "Well, she liked it, right? Its not like the meal's cursed now is it?" Shinji didn't answer. "Oh come on! What did you use?"

"…It won't be a problem?" Shinji asked.

Hikari crossed her arms.

Rei blinked.

"W-Well…" Shinji began, "You need rice, first."

* * *

They were up to the Evangelion's waist when there was a phone call to the third cage. Maya looked to Ritsuko. The Doctor took it. "Doctor Agaki, second cage."

"Doctor Akagi," Yui Ikari's voice said over the phone, "What is the status of the tests on the second unit?"

"We are halfway through the B procedures." Ritsuko replied, "Minor anomalies reported in the nerve connections of the musculature in Area 14 of the armor plating. The musculature initially showed resistance to nerve stimuli, but after a delay that area now shows green."

"I see. Any other events to report?"

Ritsuko's eyes flicked over to Maya. The technician moved an arm to a data terminal. "Yes," Ritsuko replied, "We have been monitoring the second children's synchronization ratios. They peaked at 45.7%. This is the highest my department has observed for her- we've cataloged the event and correspondence between the pilot and ground control base. I also have an E-Graph available."

"…I see you were prepared for this eventuality."

Ritsuko smirked. "One does not skimp when the opportunity presents itself, doctor."

"Does your department have a technical explanation for the synchronization increase?"

Ritsuko needed to choose her words carefully. She had them twisted on her in Ikari's office- she wouldn't allow it here. "I believe it was the fact that we were not persecuting her performance that allowed her to attain the scores she did. It may also interest you to know that we have, for the first time, Synch ratio scores on an unconscious pilot. They also showed significant increase in synch scores."

"Really?" Yui's tone actually had a degree of surprise, "I would like the data on that as well."

"As you wish," Ritsuko said, "Though I should perhaps point out that Doctor Zeppelin did not feel the study was worth the time expended. On behalf of my department, I feel the data is worthwhile, as it may have impact on our long-term synchronization studies and capabilities with the Evangelions."

"I also feel the data was worth acquiring. Well done. I want discriminate copies of both the synch increase and the unconscious synch forwarded to my office as soon as you are done."

"Of course." Ritsuko replied.

"Carry on." Yui said and hung up. Ritsuko replaced the phone and looked to Maya to see an expectant look.

"Well," Ritsuko said, taking a step to Maya's station, "Prepare copies of synchronization events one and two. We'll be sending them off to Doctor Ikari's office when we are finished here."

"Right…" Maya said, not getting the answer she expected but obeying orders.

Ritsuko put a hand on the back of Maya's chair. "We didn't get an outright overturn of the commander's ruling," She said, "But I think we put a hole in Doctor Zeppelin's argument."

Maya nodded and a smile appeared on her face.

* * *

It wasn't just the materials for seven-seas casserole. The girls continued shopping and by the end Hikari had accumulated soft drinks, some water filters, and… female care products. Hikari caught Shinji fidgeting uncomfortably as they passed through the isle, and smiled. Shinji, seeing this, tried to compose himself, but Hikari only giggled.

Aside from the apples the only other thing Rei got were bandages.

While they waited in line Hikari asked her, "Are you sure you don't need anything else, Rei?"

"Yes." Rei replied.

Hikari glanced to Shinji, then back at Rei. "No food, no cola, nothing?"

"I do not require anything else." Rei answered.

Hikari just sighed and steered the cart forward as more space was made. Shinji pushed it, looking at the items in the cart and wondering how to carry it all. He glanced at his watch, reading 4:45pm.

Suddenly his phone buzzed. Hikari turned to him as Shinji dug it out of his pocket and looked at the number. It wasn't familiar. Opening it, he asked cautiously, "H-Hello?"

"Shinji? Is this you?"

Misato. Shinji paled a little. "L-Lt. General! I-I-"

"Shinji! Relax… I'm calling to check on where you are."

Shinji swallowed. "I-I'm out sh-shopping with friends!"

"Ah! I see!"

Shinji swallowed, "M-Misato…"

"Shinji, I'm sorry for blowing up at you yesterday."

"N-No… I should be the one apologizing…" Shinji replied, "I wasn't… I didn't…"

"Shinji, I realize you had a lot on your mind and my place wasn't the most accommodating. I'm afraid to say you were kinda… correct when it came to Kaji and I. We weren't expecting you and I should have taken a little more time to prepare for that. Can you accept my apology?"

Shinji squeezed his other hand on the handle of the shopping cart. "Can you accept mine?"

"Gladly." Misato replied.

Shinji swallowed again and said, "M-Misato… Do you want me to be at your place by the end of the day? I-I mean… if I'm supposed to?"

"Shinji, the only rule I'm under _officially _is to make sure where you are at all times, especially that you aren't pestering Asuka or… well… as her mother would say 'in the general vicinity'. Since she is in the cages right now doing testing and I've just confirmed you're on the surface, we're good. That is, unless you're lying to me and you're in the cages now-"

"NO! I'm not! I swear!"

Hikari giggled at Shinji's impassioned denial, while Misato went on, "With gusto like that I wonder how well you'd enforce a lie. Well, if you ARE coming back here, give me a call so I can try to make some part of my place habitable for you, ok? Maybe I can rope Kaji into helping me. Otherwise, call me later to tell me where your bunking for the night."

"…I'm sorry again, Misato."

"And I'm sorry for getting off on the wrong foot. Have fun with your friends, ok?"

"O-Okay… thanks."

She hung up, and Shinji closed his phone.

Hikari asked him gently, "Your… guardian?"

"That was the lady who has the apartment." Shinji replied.

"The one with all those beer cans? And things crawling into them?"

Shinji's displeasure at the thought returned. He made a face. "Yes."

She giggled again, and then noticed they were next up in line.

* * *

"Well," Hikari said, "If you don't have anyplace to be, you can help me carry all this back to my place?"

That was a given, Shinji knew, with all the bags that Hikari had requisitioned.

As they got to the gates they noticed it was still raining. "Oh…" Hikari said, then dropped her bags at the door, "hang on!" She went to a door-side rack to pick up another umbrella, and hurried to the back of the grocery store line again, leaving Shinji alone with Rei and her modest one bag of apples and bandages.

"I do not understand." She said.

Shinji looked at her. "What?"

"Why is Class Representative Horaki returning to the line with another umbrella."

"She doesn't want us to get wet." Shinji replied.

"You do not require protection from the rain. She also has an umbrella."

"That leaves you." Shinji replied.

"… I do not mind the rain."

"Do you want to get wet then?" Shinji asked.

"It would be an unavoidable consequence."

"Well," Shinji said, "That's why she's getting an umbrella for you- so you don't have to get wet."

"Why?"

Shinji blinked. "What do you mean, why? She doesn't want you to be inconvenienced."

"I do not understand."

Shinji blinked at the strangeness, remembering Rei's earlier comment days ago… in the entry plug after he rescued her. "She wants to help you out. It's what people do sometimes… what friends do for one another."

"I see." Rei replied, "So… then would Class Representative Horaki see me as a friend?"

"I don't see why not."

"Do you see me as a friend?"

"Of course!" Shinji replied.

"I see."

Shinji blinked. At this angle she seemed awfully familiar. Almost like-

Hikari returned with the Umbrella. "Here we are! Rei, do you like this one better than the one I have?"

"I have no opinion, class representative Horaki."

"Rei, you can call me Hikari." The girl said, passing her the newer one, "You can take the new one. It's bigger."

Rei took it, examined it, and started to take off the plastic coating.

Shinji suddenly figured she could have gotten him an umbrella too. "H-Hey… you could have picked one up for me…"

"Silly boy," Hikari said as she opened her umbrella and took one of the bags, "You'll need both hands to carry all those bags. How about this- I'll cover you with my umbrella if your hood isn't enough."

Shinji paused at the thought of getting close to Hikari again. He didn't resist. "O-Okay."

She smiled, and the three of them stepped out of the supermarket exit.

* * *

Asuka emerged from the entry plug reeking of LCL, as she always did after prolonged tests. She was used to it by now, and just made her way out of the back end of the cages to go to the locker rooms to change.

Doctor Akagi was waiting at an intersection junction though, a tablet in hand. Asuka paused at the far end of the hall, balling her fists, and preparing to face more difficult decisions. Her advance was not as swift as it had been out of the cages.

Ritsuko noticed her and looked up. "Asuka, how are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Wait," Ritsuko said as Asuka passed her. The girl in the red plug suit stopped. "I'm aware your mother puts you under a lot of stress, and I'm going to guess the fact that Shinji is on prohibition because of you is also making you uncomfortable."

"…What are you trying to tell me, doctor?" Asuka asked without turning around.

"That I want to help you, and Shinji. I feel your mother is being very contrary to the performance of both of you."

Asuka closed her eyes and her head dipped a little. She wasn't alone. She wasn't helpless. But…

"I appreciate your concern." Asuka replied, "But it is unnecessary."

"Asuka-"

"Doctor," Asuka whirled to face her, "You are not my mother! You could never be! I'm sorry that you feel you have to mother every children in here with a problem but I cannot accept your… damage control!"

"Asuka!" The doctor called as the redhead ran down the hall for the locker rooms. As Asuka's words bounced around in her head, Ritsuko leaned back against the wall and let the back of her head hit the metal plating. She sighed to the air.

* * *

Hikari's house was a modest two-story affair in the old part of the city. The bus stop was a little far from the house, but by then the rain was letting up and there were plenty of trees along the street. Rei, still present, accompanied them up the hill.

"Some days," Hikari said, "I walk to school when I feel up to it. I have to get up early enough though…"

Shinji looked to the east, trying to make out the campus from here between the houses. He couldn't see it and looked ahead.

"My sister was class rep before I was," Hikari continued, "I think that's why I got the responsibility. And she ALWAYS walked to school! Ah! Here we are!"

They started up the front porch. "Uh…" Shinji said, pausing, "Is it okay if we…"

"Shinji," Hikari said as she pulled out her key, "It's not like I'm asking you to sleep over or anything! Besides, Dad doesn't usually get home until later. It's just Kodama who'll be here."

The door opened and she pressed inside, followed by Shinji and then Rei. "I'm home!" Hikari called up, "I brought guests!"

Shinji hefted the bags into the room and was all too glad to drop them in the entryway. He was just starting to take off his shoes when someone descended the staircase to the second story. Looking up, Shinji figured this was Hikari's older sister Kodama, looking very much like an older Hikari. The same color hair, same eyes, though with the lean figure of a mature woman. Her hair was bundled in a braid over her left shoulder.

"Hikari," The woman toned, "Who… oh."

Hikari turned. "This is Shinji Ikari! He's our newest addition to the class. And I've already told you about Rei… this is her."

Kodama came off the steps. "Now I remember, you're the boy who left the message yesterday. Is everything all right?"

Shinji recalled leaving that haphazard phone message and blushed accordingly. "Eheh… mostly."

Kodama turned to Hikari. "He's not spending the night here."

"W-What!" Hikari stammered, "Where did you get that idea?"

"I figured the idea would have crossed your mind, I know you too well." Kodama turned to Shinji, "I'm real sorry-"

"Nono! It's all right, I didn't want to impose…" He turned to the door.

"Shinji!" Hikari beeped, bopping him softly in the arm, "She said you couldn't sleep over, not stay to visit!"

Shinji looked at her and then Kodama, who was smiling. "O-Okay…"

Kodama turned away from the entrance, "We don't have much in the way of entertainment though, unless you like Television."

"A-Actually," Hikari piped up, "S-Shinji was going to help me cook dinner tonight!"

"Huh?" Shinji squeaked, having not given much credence to that suggestion on the bus ride here.

"Really?" Kodama replied, turning around, "What is he preparing?"

Hikari looked to Shinji. The boy swallowed, "S-Seven seas casserole…"

"Never had it," Kodama said, and then said to Hikari, "It had better be good."

"I-I can promise it!" Hikari replied.

Kodama, smiling, turned and headed back upstairs.

Hikari sighed a breath of relief and drew a look from Shinji. "Heh…" she said, "My sister, Kodama."

"I'm not gonna be forbidden from ever seeing you if I mess dinner up, am I?"

Rei blinked.

* * *

The office of Doctor Akagi was quiet while Ritsuko sifted through the data on her computer. She sipped at her coffee, and while putting down the platter considered the pack of cigarettes she had bought for herself. She almost grabbed it to light up but was interrupted by her phone ringing.

Ritsuko jumped a little, shaken out of her thoughts, and leaned over her desk to look at the number calling.

IKARI, S

Ritsuko hesitated before she picked up the phone. "Yes Shinji I'm here."

"D-Doctor Akagi! I-I wanted to call to see if I was needed tonight."

Ritsuko didn't think so, but wanted to check in case something popped up. "Hold on a minute…" She pulled up a master table for scheduled maintenance and synchronization. Evangelion 01 had little damage during the last battle, so he wouldn't be in for repair tests. Rei was needed this evening though, but the field for WHAT she was required for wasn't filled in. She'd have to look at that later. "No, it looks like you're clear Shinji."

"A-All right, I wanted to check."

"Shinji," Ritsuko said, "Did you get a call from Lt. General Katsuragi today?"

"Y-Yeah she called to ask where I was. Why?"

"Just making sure." Ritsuko replied, "Have you found a place to sleep tonight?"

"N-No… I can't just go back to my apartment can I? I-I still have the key…"

Ritsuko remembered what she read on the official documentation for Commander Ikari's executive order. "I'm sorry Shinji but Kyoko's official wording recommends you aren't even in the same building as she is, unless on NERV business."

"O-oh…"

Ritsuko smirked. "If it makes you feel better some of us on the base are doubting Doctor Langly's reasoning for this mandate."

"Really? W-What about… my parents?"

"They might be harder to convince," Ritsuko said, "But I think there might be sufficient grounds to challenge the ruling against you. As a pilot, you are within your rights to do so."

"…I didn't know that."

Ritsuko smiled. "Maybe we can discuss it the next time you are in. You aren't alone in this, Shinji."

"T-Thanks Doctor. I-I'll talk to you later. Have a nice…er…day."

"You too Shinji." Ritsuko replied. Even before Shinji hung up, the way she sounded that farewell… she replaced the phone gently on the hook and leaned back in her seat, going over the conversation in her head. As she remembered Asuka's words, she sighed and slipped her head into one of her hands.

The photograph stared impassively.

* * *

Shinji looked up. "You have to leave?"

They were in the kitchen of the Horaki estate. It was a small thing, just a long counter with a sink in it and a refrigerator to one side. A table was at the center of the room where all the ingredients for dinner had been piled.

"Yes." Rei replied, "It will take a half hour to reach a base entrance from this location. I am required to be there at 1800."

Shinji looked at a clock, and then tried to figure out military time. 6:00. "Oh…okay… Well, I-I guess you'd better go."

"Yes. Thank you for letting me share today with you."

Shinji blinked. That was an odd thing to say. "N-No problem…"

"Hey Rei!" Hikari chirped, "How about tomorrow we go shopping or something!" Shinji was surprised to see Rei apparently startled. "What's the matter?" Hikari asked, "You don't have any plans or anything, do you?"

"N-No…" Rei said.

"Then it's a deal! Maybe we can get Shinji to come with us, if the two of you aren't busy that is," Hikari said, not needing to address _with what_.

Shinji felt himself blush at the idea of spending more time with the pretty girl. "S-Sure…"

"Great!" Hikari said, then looked to Rei, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Very well Class Repr… Hikari."

Hikari smiled.

Rei left with her bag of things and the umbrella she had been given. The rain had returned.

After closing the door Hikari sighed. "Up until now I didn't think it was possible to get her to socialize…" She turned to Shinji, glanced at the stairs, and gently pushed him into the kitchen while she uttered under her breath, "I know the two of you were pilots… what happened? She hasn't been the same since the attack."

Shinji glanced back through the doorway into the living room. "I-I saved her life." He said, matching Hikari's volume, "She held down a power transformer when I was firing the gun to… to kill the… the thing. I-I was afraid she would have died. I went to save her."

Hikari nodded a little. "Now it makes sense. You saved her life."

Shinji looked away. "I got the feeling she didn't expect it… Maybe even… didn't want it."

Hikari smiled. "It seems she was grateful for it today."

Shinji adopted the same smile. "Yeah…."

Hikari blinked as she stared at Shinji, and then smiled. "Do you mind coming with me for shopping tomorrow?"

"N-No! Not at all…" He answered, hesitated, and looked away from her again, "I-I… Nobody's ever… asked me before."

Hikari tilted her head a little. "Especially a girl, right?"

"R-Right…."

Hikari couldn't help but giggle. "I'm learning that you can be really adorable sometimes, Shinji Ikari."

Shinji couldn't help but blush.

"Now!" Hikari piped, "Let's start making dinner! My dad could be home any hour and he'll want to eat."

Shinji swallowed at the prospect of meeting Her Father. It could be bad, if his record for parents was any trend that would continue. Well… he would do his best to make the first impression a good one. He pulled off his sweater.

* * *

Asuka dropped the pencil on the books and sighed heavily, aggressively. She didn't need this. Not now.

The formula she was staring at in the new book was evading her. _Four times_ she had started over from the beginning, trying to grasp the basics of the new concept and wrap her head around it. Granted, this level of physics was not a piece of cake, but this… this…

She stood and moved to the refrigerator to get something to drink. Maybe if she put her mind away for a while she could re-approach the problem and tackle it head on. The homework wasn't due until noon tomorrow, thankfully allowing her a little bit of breathing room to get this down.

Then again if she was having problems here she could always turn to one of the other subject she was studying.

She opened the refrigerator and jumped a little at the presence of the large, stainless steel pot that was covered with saran wrap. Her jaw gaped a little as she realized what it was, and she closed the refrigerator without taking anything from it.

She backed up a little, hitting the back wall of the kitchen and leaning against it.

Yes, that's what the problem was. That's why she couldn't focus. Shinji was still evicted from his apartment, and she was still here at his expense. What's worse was Ritsuko seemed to expect her help in all of this.

She had the chance! She mulled over talking to Ritsuko about the possibility! But… but…

The phone rang in That Tone.

Asuka went rigid, sitting up and looking across the room in the sun-set lamp lighting at the place where the phone was ringing. Obediently she moved to it and opened it. She dared not let it go unanswered, "Ya, mutter?"

"I've had interesting reports today from the ground crews regarding your synchronization scores today."

"Yes mother."

"I want you down here in the cages now to recreate them."

"Mother," Asuka sighed, "I have studying to do."

"It will wait. You will come down to the cages now."

"Yes, mother." Asuka replied in a defeated tone.

"What was that?"

Asuka took a breath. "I am coming mother."

"Good." Click.

Asuka lowered the cell phone, snapped it shut, and looked at her homework. As her stomach gurgled, she realized he hadn't even had dinner.

She needed to get ready. She leaned against the wall to roll along it, pushing herself to face the bed, but mis-stepped and collapsed on the floor rug.

She lay there for a moment, and allowed herself a few seconds to acknowledge how pathetic she felt.

* * *

Shinji Ikari had prepared himself to face a stern-hard faced adult who would growl at him for being anywhere close to his daughters. He would take offense at Shinji's presence, insist the boy be ejected from the house, and it would take the meek appeals of the daughters to allow him to stay long enough to finish eating the very dinner he prepared.

Tokaido Horaki was, in this regard, completely underwhelming. Thin, with glasses and dark hair, he seemed to have a nervous complexion… at first not sure how to handle the strange meal with a guest for the evening but being very vocal about how great it was once he tried the casserole. "You didn't lie, mister Ikari! This is good!"

Shinji laughed nervously. The fictional nightmare Mr. Horaki had condemned Shinji for bringing accursed western food into a traditional household and manhandled him off the premises. This was a welcome change.

"So is it true?" Mr. Horaki asked earnestly, "Are you the son of Commander Gendo Ikari and Doctor Yui Ikari?"

"Y-Yeah…" Shinji replied, a little crestfallen.

"Lucky! I'd kill to be the son of the boss! I'll bet you live in the best place on the base!"

"N-No actually…" Shinji said, the table now getting very quiet, "My parents don't let me live with them. I-I just got evicted from my place, actually."

"Oooh, Evicted? How? What happened?"

"I… I dunno. I guess I made someone angry."

"Hrhhr….. lemmie guess, would it be Doctor Zeppelin?"

Shinji looked up. "How did you know?"

Mr. Horaki laughed loudly. "That woman is hated everywhere! My whole division is afraid to go to her for ANY kind of medical need! She has the bedside manner of an alligator!"

Hikari couldn't help but laugh at the sudden imagery of an alligator in a nurse's outfit. Shinji got the same image, only with the characteristic blond hair of Kyoko Zeppelin.

"So what happened? Put you on quarantine for the sniffles? Wrong color hair? Look at her funny?"

"A-Actually U-um…" Shinji swallowed, "I-I cooked something for her daughter…" Shinji glanced at the others at the table while he explained his story once again, "She was living off of Instant Coffee and Raman! That's ALL She ate! I saw her fridge and… I thought…"

"Hrrr." Mr. Horaki replied, sucking in a breath before continuing, "We were all guessing she had a daughter but didn't really knew she existed- after all, how can a woman like her bear children? It's impossible!"

"Yeah…well…" Shinji said, "Because we shared apartments in the same building I got kicked out. I can't go anywhere near her now… orders."

"Oh, so where are you living now?" Mr. Horaki asked.

"…I haven't figured it out yet," Shinji said, deciding to leave out the fact that Misato's… place was open, "I'm still looking. Last night I stayed at the office of… of a coworker."

"Ah! Well, I don't think it would be too much trouble to put you up for tonight!"

"Father!" Kodama protested, turning to him, "We can't let another hard-luck case of Hikari's spend a night here! We discussed this!"

"Ah, well…" Mr. Horaki deflated a little, the first time since tasting Shinji's cooking, "W-We have to pay him back somehow… for dinner. Besides, none of Hikari's friends have ever left a mess when they were here."

Kodama looked at Shinji. "He is NOT sleeping in her room."

Before their eyes, Shinji changed color by several shades.

* * *

Shinji called Misato before his shower for the night.

"Ohh! A friend? Who is he?"

"Er…" Shinji replied, "Actually it's the place of the class rep. W-We became aquatinted and she-"

"SHE! My my Shinji, It seems I've misjudged you!"

Shinji sighed.

"All right! Well, just don't knock her up, okay? Oh! I forgot to mention earlier that the De-con people have gone through your stuff. What's…." her enthusiasm deflated over the phone, "What's left is here at my place. I've set it aside for you when you're ready to collect it."

"There wasn't a lot, was there?"

Misato didn't speak for a moment. "No. I'm sorry."

"…It happens." Shinji said, "Did they go into my apartment too?"

"I didn't ask."

Shinji felt the key to his apartment in his pocket. "Thank you Misato."

"Don't mention it. Sleep well, kay? Gimme a call tomorrow when you're out of class."

"I will. Have a good night, Misato."

"Oh I promise you, I will. Night!" She hung up.

Shinji looked at his phone. After closing it, he began to undress in the bathroom and realized the clothes he was wearing… except the sweater of course… was still the same undershirt, white over shirt, black pants, belt… the whole ensemble from three days previous. He took a cautionary sniff at the shirt but didn't smell anything. That didn't mean there wasn't anything on it though. He sighed.

For the moment the best he could do is pray the sweater would mask any body odor that was reeking into the shirts. He'd probably have to burn them if they couldn't be saved in whatever clothes washer he found next.

He made the bath quick, not wanting to tax the Horaki's hospitality, and was out dressed in the same stuff. Hikari found him in the living room, where he would be sleeping. "No change of clothes, huh?" She asked.

Shinji did not want to admit to her how long he had been wearing this. "Er…no…"

"Well," Hikari said, "Maybe tomorrow you can do some clothes shopping too. That is, if you have the money…"

Shinji suddenly remembered he still had the company credit card with him. He COULD afford new clothes! Maybe even another apartment of his own! He didn't need to inconv…

Hikari was smiling at him.

"Y-Yeah… I think I can."

"Well that's great!"

Shinji swallowed. "H-Hikari… what did your sister mean… by… uh…"

"Oh!" The girl replied, blushing a little as she stepped forward and whispered to him, "I bring friends of mine over now and again when they're trying to get away from their parents. I usually come up with some excuse."

"O-oh…"

Hikari added with a grin, "I never brought a boy over before though. That's a first!"

Shinji blushed.

So did Hikari.

Shinji felt another moment forming between them, and forgetting that he may have smelled terribly of his own body odor, he leaned forward-

-And then saw Kodama descending the stairs. He swallowed, pulling back a little while Hikari turned around.

Kodama made a wry grin. "I'll have an ear open tonight, Ikari."

"I-I won't do anything!" Shinji piped, "I swear!"

Hikari laughed again and Kodama crossed her arms, smirking. "Shinji Ikari, I believe you, only for the reason that I think if you TRIED anything indecent you would combust first out of embarrassment." Shinji lowered his head at her statement, and Hikari's laughter.

"All right then," Kodama said, heading into the kitchen to shut it down for the night.

Hikari turned to Shinji and bowed a little. "Thank you for letting me share today with you, Shinji."

Realizing she had echoed Rei's words, Shinji's mouth parted a little. It didn't sound so strange coming from Hikari. In fact…

She leaned up again, smiling, and then did a small jump to give him a big hug. He embraced her back, taking in the smell of her hair as he closed her eyes. This… this was…

She gave him a squeeze before pulling back, and then made a face. "Shinji, we have to DEFINITELY get you new clothes, if you ever want me to hug you again without holding my nose."

Shinji blushed. "S-sorry…"

Laughing, she gave him a gentle nudge in the shoulder with a fist. "I'll help you pick them out, kay?"

"…Okay."

"Goodnight." She said, and then turned to follow her sister up the stairs.

"Goodnight Hikari…" Shinji said, watching the two of them ascend the stairs. Shinji looked around the room and then down at the couch where the sheets were laid out. Sighing he slipped into them, pulling the comforter up over his shoulders. He reached out and turned off the lamp.

Though the room was dark, there was still light from outside peeking through the curtains. He could make out the plaster ceiling above him.

"Another unfamiliar ceiling…" he murmured.

Shinji closed his eyes… wondering how many more times the scenery would change for him like this. But then he turned his thoughts to Hikari, and fell asleep content.


	12. Coping

XII  
Coping

NERV was never truly at complete rest. Even through the night, experiments and low-level tests were conducted through the complex at a time when manpower was not essential. There were usually never any exceptions… unless Kyoko Zeppelin had a particular desire she wished to fulfill.

That's what the cage technicians were thinking, anyway, as the early hours of the morning were dedicated to the operational stand-by of the German Evangelion unit. All of them wanted to shut the thing down and go home… after all, wasn't this thing run just yesterday? Didn't that crazy woman get what she wanted?

Obviously not, the technicians whispered among themselves, as the blond woman stood in the observation box where her counterpart had been standing nearly half a day before. "From the top again, Asuka."

The second child was once again in the entry plug, once again in her red plug suit and once again in the throne of the Evangelion.

And once again, the overhanging guilt had her by the guts. She closed her eyes and tried to relax again, to appease her mother by delivering a satisfactory synchronization rate so she could go home… and sleep.

She wasn't alone. One of the technicians yawned and couldn't contain it. He earned a lethal stare from Kyoko.

The door opened to the observation deck and someone entered. "Doctor Zeppelin?"

Kyoko whirled.

Yui Ikari walked toward her stand by the instrumentation, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Yes, certainly." Kyoko replied and said into a microphone pickup, "Continue Asuka." She to Yui.

Yui was studying the display information. "I was surprised when I was informed cage three had been in continuous standby operation since yesterday. I came down here for myself to see if this was true."

"Yes," Kyoko replied, "I have been trying to determine the cause of the Synchronization anomalies reported yesterday by Doctor Akagi. Since her report could not place any technical reasoning, It is my duty to discover the psychological and health reasons why this is so."

"And you have not been able to re-create the phenomena?"

Kyoko shifted her weight a little, and an eyebrow twitched. "No." She turned back to the display, "However, based on my continual analysis, I believe Doctor Akagi has somehow altered the data-"

"That will be enough, Doctor Zeppelin." Yui said, crossing her arms, "I want you to terminate the current synchronization test and put Evangelion unit two on stand-down."

Kyoko whirled. "I do not have the data I require! I have reason to suspect that-"

"I have looked over Doctor Akagi's data, and I see nothing wrong with the report. Furthermore, I have no reason to think that she has any purpose to alter the tests. However, given your behavior in the past few days, I would say this experiment you are presently conducting was to try to discover a way to discredit Doctor Akagi."

Kyoko's voice escalated with rage, "How dare you-!"

"You are hampering the effectiveness of this facility," Yui interrupted calmly, "By overworking the staff and placing the Evangelion in a continuous activity cycle. Evangelion operations are not cheap, doctor, and the unit is not a toy for you to play with. It is NERV property and very expensive to maintain. I cannot allow you to expend resources prolonging this feud."

"I am doing my job, doctor!" Kyoko seethed, "And I will not be undermined by Doctor Akagi!"

"I also have reason to believe your earlier mandate against the third children was a creation of spite, rather than out of medical concern for the second. I am therefore recommending that it is rescinded, since Doctor Akagi's data suggests Shinji is not the cause for the impediment in the second children's ability."

Kyoko moved forward but Yui's next words stopped her, "If you slap me again I will consider it assault and you will answer criminal charges. I can overlook your pride in your daughter for seeing her to succeed, but just as I have limits on my patience with Doctor Akagi, so I have limits with you. Please attend to your other duties."

Kyoko made a fierce scowl before leaving the cage in rapid, angry fashion, grunting as she went through the door and left the cages again in anger.

Yui Ikari calmly stepped to the instrument panel. "Asuka? This is Doctor Ikari. I'm suspending the tests. You may go."

Doctor Ikari did not miss the increase in Asuka's synchronization score. "Thank you, doctor."

For the first time since coming to Tokyo-3, Shinji woke up before his alarm. Groaning again he rolled on the couch before recognizing he was awake. Slowly he sat up.

There were lights on in the kitchen and someone was moving about. Getting out of the couch, he moved into the room to see who it was.

Hikari was already making breakfast. "Ah! Shinji good morning! She beeped.

Shinji rubbed his eyes and checked the clock. It was 6:14am. He had never risen this early before. "Morning…"

"I'm making some breakfast," Hikari said, "My father and Kodama won't be up for a bit, but I always have food ready for them, lunches too!"

"O-Okay…" Shinji replied.

"…I hope you don't mind that I've made a lunch for you too… I didn't know if you wanted to make one for yourself."

Shinji managed a groggy grin, "It's fine, thank you."

Hikari nodded happily and continued about her work.

Shinji let a moment of silence pass, before he decided to say, "T-Thank you again for having me sleep over."

Hikari glanced at him and answered, "You're welcome…" She looked back to her cooking.

Catching the pause, Shinji turned his head. "S-Something wrong?"

"No," Hikari replied, "Just… I suppose my sister's right. I am a sucker for hard luck cases…" She turned to him, "And you'd better not take advantage of it, mister!"

"I-I wont! I swear!"

Hikari smiled. "Now I know you're awake."

Shinji sighed as he smiled, realizing it did seem to work… "U-Uhm… Do you need any help?"

"I think I can manage." She replied, then took in a breath and puffed out, "I haven't had to prepare for four people in a long time… not since Nozomi… died."

Shinji watched her expression, and then asked softly, "Your sister?"

Hikari nodded a little, not facing him. "S-She…" She swallowed and tried again, "She was in the same building as Touji's sister… and others. Somehow the Evangelion was hit and… and toppled the wrong way."

Shinji wondered which Evangelion she could have been talking about… who had been the pilot?

"I-Of course, I don't blame the pilot!" Hikari replied, "E-Even if it was Rei…" Her hands slowed.

"…Hikari…"

"I-I guess this is what war's like, huh?" Hikari replied, "When you loose someone to an accident…"

"…Yeah."

Hikari tried to work again but a strong sob finally escaped, breaking her rigid stand by the sink. He… He felt…

Hikari reacted to his hug, pulling away from the sink and grabbing him tightly around the waist, not saying anything. A long breath whistled passed over his shoulder, at the end ridden with sobs.

Though he was blushing Shinji didn't let go. He just… held her… and then closed his own eyes to take in the smell of her hair.

"I-I…" She sobbed, crying now, "I miss her…"

"I know."

"I-It… It was only two months ago a-and…and…" She lost coherency again and continued to cry into his shoulder.

Shinji heard the creaking of the house and looked up to see Kodama enter the kitchen. "Hikari?" She asked.

Hikari pulled away from Shinji, sniffing and wiping her eyes, "I-I'll be fine… I'm sorry…"

"N-No… it's… It's ok." Shinji replied.

Kodama looked from Hikari to Shinji, and back again.

Hikari sniffed. "I-It's Nozomi…"

Kodama's eyes widened a little, and then softened. "I see."

Hikari sniffed and gestured to the table, "I-I started making breakfast."

Kodama nodded a little. "Dad's still getting up… I just wanted to know what…" Her gaze ended at Shinji, who blushed a little. "I suppose…" she said, "None of us really considered the dangers when the attack was coming." Kodama looked to the table, "It's thought the teacher on the trip just presumed it was an earthquake and not… not what they said on the news."

Shinji swallowed. He hadn't even heard about the first attack, let alone have the chance to misunderstand it. He nodded.

"Well," Kodama sighed out, "We can't do anything about it crying, and Nozomi wouldn't want us sobbing about it every five minutes."

"…she was your sister though." Shinji replied.

Kodama smiled weakly while Hikari went back to work. "Do you have any siblings, Shinji?"

"N-No…" He answered, "It was just me. But… sometimes… I feel like…" He lapsed into silence.

Kodama decided not to press him. She looked to the table; "Nozomi was a little spitfire when she was alive. She was also a great mediator and… well…. Without her Hikari and I had to settle some things."

Hikari didn't turn around, just kept working.

Though some still presumed Ritsuko Akagi slept in her office, anyone up early enough would have seen the doctor on her way from the temporary quarters on-base to the office complex near the center of the installation. She hadn't had word if her official residence topside was clear yet.

She was only in her office for about ten minutes when her phone rang. She glanced at it, and picked it up immediately when she read IKARI, Y. "Doctor Akagi."

"Doctor! I was calling to see if your schedule was free today."

"One moment." Ritsuko replied. Aside from considering another synchronization test to get Shinji in, she hadn't had any important technical requirements that demanded her attention. Today had been destined for filing and other paperwork. "Nothing which does not require my strict attention. Why do you ask?"

"Because I've just been called by Japan Heavy Chemicals Industries this morning about the test they were performing at old Tokyo."

Ritsuko winced and looked at a calendar, "I thought they postponed it."

"They did, but apparently they pushed it back and are hosting it today. I would like you to accompany me to the demonstration. Lt. General Katsuragi was also invited."

Ritsuko made a face. "As I recall, JHCI's prototype wasn't worth serious consideration. Their proposal was essentially a walking robot."

"Apparently there have been some changes in the past few months to the design… changes which won't be revealed until today. That's why I want you coming, to give a second look at the technology."

"I see. Is this out of some security concerns from us?"

"Not initially, but Commander Ikari wants me to go. And I want you to accompany me."

"I understand. What time will we be leaving?"

"After lunch. The demonstration is slated to take place around four. We will be meeting at Heliport three."

"I'll be there."

"Very good. Oh! Before I forget, it may please you to know that I've recommended a recommended rescinding Doctor Zeppelin's restraining order on Shinji, pending further evidence that there is in fact a legitimate performance issue."

"Thank you," Ritsuko sighed, unable to help herself smile as well, "He would be grateful to hear it."

"I understand there was something of a protest to his living with the Lt. General."

"Something to that effect, yes."

"Since rescinding the order seems to result in offend the least amount of people, I've decided to go through with it. The Commander still needs to make the final ruling but in the name of efficiency I see no reason for him to maintain it."

"I agree."

"Very good. See you at noon."

Ritsuko hung up. Though she found herself strangely pleased about the news, she was also puzzled why Yui didn't just call her son herself. He would certainly have appreciated it.

Before she could seriously give credence to the thought that even _Yui_ was acknowledging Ritsuko's… relationship with the boy, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!"

It was Maya. "Doctor, I think you should know that-" She hesitated as she saw Ritsuko…well… "Er… did something happen?"

"Doctor Ikari has decided to rescind the order."

Maya's grin went wide. "That's great! So Shinji can go back to his place?"

"Apparently so." Ritsuko replied, "Well… at least that gives him some certainty. Now, what is it you had to tell me?"

"Oh! Well…" Maya stepped forward, "I was handed these… reports from the second cage this morning. I thought you should see them."

Ritsuko stood from her chair to look at the printouts. "My god," She said, "That woman had Asuka in the Eva again all night!"

Maya's head dipped a degree.

"…Well, I suppose that explains how we got the order rescinded." Ritsuko replied, "Evangelion 02's had about three times the activation time normally required for a pre, post, and actual activity period, all within one week. Not good for funding I imagine."

"So…?"

Ritsuko sat back down. "I don't think it would mean too much harm in the scheme of things, given that unit 02 has just been repaired. But it does mean shifting the maintenance schedules around… nasty business of paper pushing. Fortunately we have clerks for this kind of thing, but it annoys more people than it should."

Maya nodded.

"Oh, before I forget," Ritsuko said, "Apparently Japan Heavy Chemicals Industries is going through with the Jet Alone Demonstration today. Doctor Ikari invited me to go along. While I'm away, I want you to mind the store."

"O-Okay," Maya said, taking another step closer to the desk, "Is there anything special I need to be aware of?"

"I considered a synch test as a reason to get Shinji in to brief him about protesting the order, but I suppose that's no longer necessary. Though," She turned her head, "If you need an excuse to schedule another date with Mr. Ikari, you can use mine."

"D-Doctor!"

Shinji Ikari was not normally up this early. Overcast clouds, perhaps from yesterday, were still in the sky as he and Hikari left the Horaki estate. "It's gonna be a ways," Hikari was saying as she held her umbrella with her bag, "But the sights can be rather pretty."

Shinji nodded, hefting his backpack that he still carried. They began their trek across the northern part of Tokyo-3 with about an hour to get to class.

"So," Hikari asked, "My father wasn't what you expected, eh?"

"No, and I'm glad."

Hikari snickered, "What were you thinking you'd meet?"

"Someone…different." Shinji replied, not sure if he should humor her or not.

"Oh come on," She replied, nudging him playfully, "Tell me."

"Er…" Shinji hesitated, "Imposing… rigid…angry."

"My father angry? I've never seen him angry. He's harmless!"

"Y_Yeah, I figured."

Hikari giggled again. "So…. What are your parents like?"

Shinji hesitated, glancing at her before looking at the road again as they walked. "I don't know…"

"Oh… well… If you don't live with them I guess you wouldn't know."

"I haven't seen them for years, until I came here." Shinji replied, "They sent me away when I was little and I've lived with my uncle and aunt since. I never knew why… I still don't know why."

"They didn't tell you when you came here?" Hikari asked.

Shinji shook his head a little. "I-I think… I think they just called me back to be a pilot."

"…That's rather…"

"I know." Shinji replied. He sighed. After another moment of silent walking he said, "Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be in a family. I-I guess I'm a little envious…"

"Not at all, I understand." Hikari said, "Sometimes I envy the people I know who still have their mother."

"…Do you remember her, at all?"

"Pieces, here and there." Hikari replied, "From pictures mostly. I don't have many memories of her except stuff my dad digs up from photographs." She sighed, "He loved her very much… and Kodama tells me it was really hard for him when she passed away."

Shinji nodded in sympathy. He could picture himself in the same way, if he had someone like that. He found himself looking at Hikari.

Something else caught his eye.

"H-Hikari…look!" Shinji said, gripping her shoulder to turn her. They had just finished crossing a road, and were in a perfect position to see it.

The buildings were coming back up.

After four days of being submerged into the ground, the high-rise buildings of Tokyo-3 were starting to rise up like flowers. Rows and rows of windows were revealed, and the distant rumbling of the actuators were heard by both of them.

"Wow…" Hikari whispered breathlessly as they saw it.

The two of them stood there for a good five minutes, watching the slow-motion rise of the structures until it seemed as if they had reached their full extent. A distant, final rumble confirmed their guess.

Shinji's hand was still on Hikari's shoulder, and she turned her head. A grin appeared, and she leaned into him. "Nice catch, Shinji."

He felt himself start to blush.

Shinji figured there would be more trouble today from his classmates. It was expected given what happened yesterday. Even the adventure at lunchtime yesterday didn't dissuade them- the grins and glances continued and was only stopped after Class when Hikari forced everyone out for the 'conference.'

Shinji was no stranger to gossip, and figured coming in with Hikari might enflame whatever rumors were likely circulating around about him and her. But then, he asked himself, did he really mind? Hikari was pretty. And he liked her too.

He came into class right after her and already detected the gazes. She took her seat and he continued to his, next to Ayanami who was already there.

She was looking at him.

Shinji made a nervous smile back while he took his seat and started to open his backpack. Though his class binder was missing he still managed to borrow some paper from Hikari for today's'… lesson. If there was one.

"Rise!" Hikari called as the old teacher came in and the mockery of education played out once again. During the greeting Shinji caught sight of a calendar, and realized today marked his first week of being in Tokyo-3.

Some week.

Class started with instruction about global politics before the second impact. Things appeared to get interesting when Kensuke asked about the origins of the Nansha Island conflict, but served only to tangent the teacher to his experiences on _Okinawa_ Island, since he was nowhere near the Nansha islands. Shinji wrote off class at that point and decided to doodle.

After that got dull he looked around for something else to pay attention to. Hikari was busy with paperwork at the front of the class and Ayanami's interest had returned to the window.

He was about to go back to his paper and pencil when a wad of paper landed on his desk. Blinking, he surmised it must have been a note and looked around.

Everyone seemed to be busy either being bored or gossiping under their breaths, though some people were still shooting him glances. They giggled and pulled back accordingly, but the only person with paper and pencil out was Kensuke.

Figuring the note was from him, Shinji unfolded it.

LUNCH, MEET AT THE TOP OF THE BUILDING

Maybe Kensuke had something else to say to him? About that abandoned building? …About GEHIRN?

At least it was something to consider in the… copious amounts of time he had now.

Ritsuko had lunch before the helicopter ride. It amused her to see Misato try to eat something on the lurching helicopter. Catching the Doctor's amused gaze, Misato stuck out her tongue before she attempted another bite on her sandwich that, presumably, Kaji made for her. Ritsuko didn't know Misato to eat anything other than curry.

"Boyfriend lunch?" Ritsuko asked.

Misato gave her the finger.

Ritsuko turned to Yui, who was typing on her laptop. "Doctor Ikari, is there any reason for NERV to be especially concerned about this… Jet Alone?"

Yui replied without turning away from her computer, "You are aware of the various robotic projects that have sprung up ever since the unveiling of the Evangelion, correct?"

Ritsuko winced. "I recall seeing a publication in Popular Science about the few that are around."

"Jet Alone is the only one advertised as a direct competitor to the Evangelions." Yui continued, "TRIDENT, also being developed in Japan, is not being marketed as an 'angel fighter' as Jet Alone is."

"I can't see how a machine can make that claim since they have no way to neutralize an AT field."

"True, and though we suspect they do not know the… level of capability the Angels exhibit, there has been some talk of new developments for this robot that haven't been publicly released yet."

"Wlreery?" Misato asked with her mouth full.

Yui blinked. "We do know within the past four months a third party has become interested in the Jet Alone project and has been donating significant funding to the development of the prototype. The Commander thinks they will have a presence at the demonstration. On top of ascertaining what Jet Alone's current form is, we are to discover the identity of this backer."

"I see." Ritsuko said and leaned back into her chair. "And we have no intelligence on any of the facts?"

"We feel there has been a counter-intelligence agency at work." Yui replied, "Surprising, for a private company. The United Nations intelligence services believes that some major power is behind the masking, but we cannot be certain."

The Helicopter continued for old Tokyo.

Shinji was all too eager for the lunch bell, and when it rang he wasted no time in standing.

Everyone else didn't waste any time either, and all crowded out of the room to escape and loiter on the campus to eat. Shinji didn't make it to Hikari's seat until most of them had filtered out of the room. While he was grateful for not being mobbed like yesterday, he hesitated to see Hikari already surrounded by a group of girls that giving Shinji suspicious looks.

"I'm sorry Shinji," She said, "But Hideko's already asked if I'd join her for lunch today."

Though Hikari's look had a tone of reluctance, the other girls clearly did not intend for him to join them.

"O-Okay…" Shinji replied, "Catch you later."

He left the classroom with his backpack and lunch inside. Remembering the note, he wandered the building to find a way to the roof. The staircase he found, unexpectently, went all the way to the top, and after reaching it and pausing to see if there would be any fire alarms he'd set off he pushed it open.

There were still clouds in the sky but the threat of rain was gone at least. Shinji stepped away from the stairway and out onto the roof.

The view was amazing from here. He could see the entire city from the top of the building and walked away from the doorway to get a better look at it.

"Good. You came."

Shinji whirled to see someone had been standing beside the tower where the stairs lead up into the roof. He paled as he identified Touji Suzuhara's black outfit and black expression.

The jock pounded a fist into his palm as he walked towards Shinji. "I need to talk to you, kid."

Shinji balled his fists. "A-About what?"

Shinji only had the space of a blink to recognize the fist flying for his face. The next thing he registered, aside from the blow to his cheek, was that he hit the ground and knocked his head. He felt dizzy.

Coughing, he couldn't even respond to Touji grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him up. "Listen good kid, I don't want you going anywhere near Hikari. Or Kensuke. Or anyone else. You NERV freaks just stick together and leave the rest of us alone. Ok?"

"Bu-Bu-" Was all Shinji could utter before Touji shoved him to the ground where he knocked his head once again. Then a kick to the ribs. Shinji started to cry, unable to help himself. He only barely recognized Touji turning away and heading for the stairway back into the building.

All he could do was sit there and cry. How could anyone have been so unfair to him? Again… all he did was try to make friends… and what did it get him?

…Now he couldn't see Hikari again.

As that thought started to consume him he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. He jerked, but then stopped as he saw the eyes of the person were red… and the skin was pale.

Rei.

"R-Rei…"

"Please stand." She said. He obediently complied, standing with her assistance. Her lilly-white hand touched his chest, pressing gently like a nurse. Then she moved to his cheek, which was bruised. "No fractures, bruising to the face and side."

"R-Rei…"

"You are not seriously injured…. Shinji."

"T-That's good…" He uttered.

The bell rang across campus. Had he really missed lunch?

"W-We gotta get back to class…" He sniffed as another wave of despair lapped him.

"I will assist you."

Shinji blinked, and though he was in pain and hurt… he felt relieved to know at least one person wouldn't leave him.

He was about to discover it was two.

Hikari gave a very loud and very sudden gasp when Shinji came in the classroom with assistance from Rei.

Shinji only blinked, and before he knew it Hikari had left her chair and came to his side. He also saw other faces looking in his direction, concern all around… or just the hunger for something different than the usual lecture. It surprised him to recognize even the teacher had stopped his droning.

"My God, Shinji!…" Hikari said, standing close to him and feeling him over, "Is anything broken? Are you all right? What happened?"

Shinji grunted, lowering his head and wishing he could just sit down.

But not anywhere near Touji. Shinji's gaze looked over in that direction.

Hikari followed it. She took Shinji's hand, "Let me handle this." Giving it a squeeze, she then dropped it and moved away from him. "Suzuahara, I need to talk to you."

"What for?" Touji replied, staring at the ceiling disinterested, "Not my fault if the NERV freaks had some lover's spa-"

"**_NOW_**_!_"

The class, all gossip, whispers, and singsong utterances of disciplinary action all stopped. Hikari had never screamed that loud and that suddenly before. It was enough to elicit even a startled look from Touji. Her look was matched with a ferocious look.

Slowly, Touji got up from his chair and hesitated beside it before walking to the exit. He passed Shinji and Rei with no expression, followed by Hikari. She closed the door behind them.

Shinji and Rei moved to their seats, some students getting up and approaching the pair as they moved. "Should we take him to the nurse or something?" Shinji heard.

He was guided into a seat by Rei, who was quiet through the motion. When he was down Shinji recognized he was in _her_ seat.

"What happened?"  
"Did you get into a fight?"  
"What did he say?"  
"Hey back up!"

Shinji blinked to see Kensuke pushing his way through the other students. "Geeze! Touji roughed you up didn't he?"

Shinji huffed a laugh. "It's just Touji."

Kensuke hesitated, and then lowered his gaze to the ground.

Everyone turned their heads when they heard a slap from outside though. There was enough of a pause afterward for students to look at one another and hear the muttered tone through the door from the class rep.

Silence. Then, "Go To Detention!"

Another pause, and then the door opened. Only Hikari came back in. She strode to the front of the teacher's desk and made a bow before speaking, "Sensei, I have sent Mr. Suzuhara to detention for assaulting another student. With your permission I would like to take Mr. Ikari to the school nurse."

"Y-Yes… of course." The old man moaned, either out of sloth or out of shock.

Hikari wasted no effort, whirling fast enough for her pigtails to swing wide and she strode to where Shinji was seated. "Come on Shinji," She said, "We'll take you to the nurse."

"I will help you." Rei said.

"Okay." Hikari replied. Hands reached around Shinji and helped him up. Both girls helped him leave the class.

Everyone left in the room immediately fell into gossip and discussion. Class's lecture, whatever it was, completely forgotten.

Nobody paid attention to Kensuke, who resumed his seat quietly.

The Photographs and mock-ups were very impressive. So was the scale model. The buzz around the room was about how magnificent of a construction the Jet Alone was, the fact that a fully artificial biped could stand successfully at this scale. Even the landmark TRIDENT was nowhere near as sophisticated (or postured) as the humanoid shaped Jet Alone.

Amidst the sea of conversation there was an oasis at the table reserved for the NERV staff. Yui was working on her laptop again while Ritsuko and Misato were having a debate after the movie presentation they had just been shown. "I've never seen such a crap load of conspicuous CGI in my LIFE!"

Ritsuko blinked. Sure it was tacky, but the public did not have access to advanced theoretical simulators… like MAGI.

"Like some goddamned toy commercial. What's next? Plastic action figures!" Misato continued to rage.

"Maybe it would explain where they are getting their source of funding." Ritsuko added dryly. She looked around and then over at the model again. If the scale was correct, whatever Japan Heavy Chemicals Industries had manufactured, it was taller than the Evangelions. That alone, if it walked, warranted some mention in the Guinness book of world records.

"Hey," Misato uttered, "Who's the flashy getup over there?"

The two doctors turned their heads. It wasn't hard to guess who she was talking about.

An impressive man stood out from the rest of the crowd. Easily a head taller than his escorts around him, broad-shouldered and a chiseled face with thin eyes, the man was walking calmly from the doorway with a retinue of uniformed officers surrounding him. He was wearing the uniform of a General.

A Russian General.

"We may have found our backer," Ritsuko said, turning to Yui who was already working on her laptop. "Interesting." Doctor Ikari finally announced, "His name is Anavel Kalinin, Marshal of the Russian Federation."

Misato blinked. "He's the head of Russia's entire military forces! What's he doing here?"

"Do we need to guess?" Ritsuko replied.

Misato turned. "Wait, don't they have an Eva they're building?"

"No." Yui replied, "Russia is part of the United Nations, but internal pressure at the time of designating the construction sites forced the committee to pass on Russia. There is a small NERV detachment in Moscow, but NERV has no official branch there."

"So," Misato uttered, "I guess they're out shopping for something to match an Evangelion."

"It would appear so."

Ritsuko, while she was watching the General, saw him turn his head to look around the room, pause at the NERV table, and then turn to one of his aides to utter something. Ritsuko winced.

Shinji sat calmly as the nurse tended to his injuries. He had to take off his shirt for her to feel around his ribs, confirming what Rei said on the roof. The bruising, she told him, would last for a little while but probably heal up by the next day. Shinji thanked her and stumbled out into the office, where Rei and Hikari were waiting.

Hikari immediately stood and went to him. "Will you be all right?"

"T-The nurse said I'd have some swelling but…" He gulped. "I'm fine."

Hikari made a little smile. "Ordinarily I'd think about sending you home, but under the circumstances…"

Shinji smiled. He'd rather wait for Hikari anyway. "I think I can go back to class…"

"Well," Hikari said, "You'll be a celebrity for today."

Shinji, Rei, and Hikari all left the office and started on their way back to the classroom. "D-Did…" Shinji started, "Did he…tell you what happened?"

"Yes."

Shinji bobbed his head as he walked, then said, "W-We heard you… slap him."

Hikari's pace slowed a little. Shinji stopped to let her catch up, where she also stopped. Rei halted with them. Hikari sighed, and said, "He disappointed me, Shinji. You know," She looked at him, "I… I had kind of a crush on him."

Her eyes wandered, "I-I saw a compassionate side in him… but… I guess after his sister died… and what he's done… Especially to you, and Rei. I can't see him like that anymore."

"It's not his fault…"

"Yes it is!" Hikari replied, looking at him now, "I lost _my_ sister! I don't blame Rei, or NERV for what happened! And I wouldn't _ever_ vent my feelings that way to hurt someone!"

Hikari took in a great breath, sighed, and said, "I'm sorry… I guess… I have my own ways of being exasperated."

She leaned forward into Shinji, head down, and he found himself slipping his arms around her. She sighed over his shoulder and uttered, "And somehow I'm liking you more and more."

Shinji swallowed nervously, but he started to feel warm again. Her warm breath against his neck was a welcome feeling.

At that point he noticed Rei was still standing there, looking at them.

He gave Hikari a squeeze and parted. She looked at him and then also remembered Rei was here with a glance. "Oh! Rei… I'm sorry…"

"Why reason are you apologizing?"

"Well… because we….um…" Hikari hesitated, not sure how to respond, "Because we're making a scene…"

"I am not offended."

"I-I know," Hikari said, lost, "Um…"

"Why do you believe I would feel offended?"

"Well, because… because I guess I thought you would be jealous. Or… um... that you're a third wheel or something."

"No. On the contrary, I am curious. I have never witnessed the act of coupling in person before."

That made Shinji and Hikari both blush, since someone openly acknowledged what was going on. "C-Coupling? Er…" Hikari looked to Shinji. He couldn't help the smile on his face, despite trying to suppress it.

"Well…" Hikari replied, "Um… well… I guess that's how it goes."

"If you do not mind, I would like to continue observing."

Shinji connected some dots in his head. The idea of Rei following he and Hikari, wherever they went, for whatever they did, was a reasonably awkward one. "Er… well… not ALL the time."

"I see. Couples also expect periods of private intimacy with one another."

This made Hikari blush so hard she put her hands to her face with a hushed whimper. Shinji, also red, just laughed nervously.

"Why are your faces getting red?"

"We're nervous." Shinji replied, "You ask a lot of awkward questions, Rei."

"I see." Rei said, blinked, and went on, "I am sorry."

"N-Not at all! Um…" Shinji said and hesitated, since, the apology was actually warranted. "Er… Rei… you're still our friend."

"You can still come with us when we go shopping today." Hikari said.

"You will not be intimate with one another and require privacy?"

"Certainly not!" Hikari replied, blushing once more. Shinji laughed nervously again. Hikari wiped tears out of her eyes from the emotion cycling through her head. "We're such a mess… What's the class gonna think when we get back?"

Shinji looked at Rei and formulated his own guess what the class might be suspecting… after one boy left with two girls to see a 'nurse'. This didn't help his blushing.

"Maybe we should dunk our heads in some cold water or something." Hikari suggested.

Rei tilted her head a little. "How would cold water avail you of the redness in your face?"

"We would be thinking of something else for one thing!" Hikari replied, starting to walk again. After three paces though, she glanced at Shinji and the two exchanged a grin.

Were they not headed for class or with Rei, Shinji would have reached out for her hand.

He was a surprised when she took his, and held it as they walked.

Ritsuko checked her watch, reading 2.30pm. The discussion panel was still in full swing, with the guests seated at their round tables. All were staring up at the long bench atop the platform where the design heads of the project were seated. They had been going over the specifications and intention of Jet Alone for the past half-hour.

"…As you are all aware, the Jet Alone series of bipedal walkers represents new capabilities in the areas of commercial and military development," The project director was saying. "However, thanks to new sources of funding and innovation, we have pushed Jet Alone far beyond the simplest of objectives and have given it the capability of further applications- such as deep sea operations. I'm sure those in Project Blue would like to have a hand in underwater construction and excavation. With a humanoid platform and a human operator at the helm, tunneling turns from a complex operation involving deep-sea excavators and complex computers under pressure to one man, reproducing the ancient act of moving dirt with a shovel."

That elicited some laughter. The NERV team didn't move.

"This is of course," Another developer added, "To say nothing of space-based applications. The Jet Alone model which we will be demonstrating today has just completed the modifications for zero-G and zero-atmosphere operations. We're even hoping to elicit interest in things like NASA and the ESA, for construction of their Clavius and Alpha Moonbases."

"Which goes without saying," A third developer said, "That the latest JA model comes with radiation and particle shielding built-in to the superstructure. Not only can it walk in the deepest places of the earth, but we also foresee our Jet Alone model assisting in the excavation of the Second Impact site… perhaps helping us understand the full scope of the tragedy that re-shaped the planet."

"Of course, you'll have to take our word for that one," The Project Director added, "Since we don't want to risk all of you to lethal radiation for a simple demonstration, even if there's more than enough just a few kilometers from here."

Another round of chuckles.

"So!" The Director said, "Before we move you all to he operations room for the full demonstration, does anyone have any questions?"

Immediately after the last word left his lips a pale hand shot up. "Yes."

"Ah!" The Director said, "The Elusive doctor Yui Ikari from NERV herself! I wondered if our invitation was enticing enough to draw you out of that spider's web."

Yui didn't rise to the comment, only spoke into the microphone she was handed as she stood. "Director, the design specifications for your new machine call for the installation of an S-12-B Nuclear Reactor, correct?"

"Not exactly," The Director replied, "The unit does have a nuclear reactor installed, but it is an entirely new model of engine derived from the S-12-B American Submarine Nuclear Reactor. Most of the modifications were to fit it into the frame, along with other special modifications that must, as you understand, remain classified at this time. With it we can ensure over 150 days of continuous operation… and no embarrassing power cables to trip over."

Some chuckles. Yui remained firm. "That may be true Director, but have you considered the risks of having a nuclear power-plant in a unit which, under military circumstances, might be damaged and so explode?"

The Director shook his head. "No different from nuclear reactors installed in the navies of the world, doctor, and nobody seems to be complaining about them or the few that are now at the bottom of the sea. Besides, I think everyone here would rather be interested in a machine guaranteed operation beyond five minutes."

"And what of the remote operating system?" Yui asked, "Given the evolving history of cyber-warfare, what is the potential risk for someone commandeering the machine and using it for their own ends? Or self-destructing it?"

The Director smiled. "I hope that much-vaunted super computer of yours isn't preparing to ruin our demonstration today, doctor. But I assure you, the remote operation system is only a secondary feature, given the change in the development project to introduce a more… human factor into the equation by means of a pilot! One of course, older than a temperamental teenager."

Ritsuko knew Yui long enough to recognize surprise- no matter how discreet- in Yui's face. "I was lead to believe Jet Alone was purely a remote weapon."

A developer leaned forward to his microphone, "It was in the initial concept yes, but the concern you just voiced was one of the factors in changing the ends of the project. Plus, some of our backers had requested a human pilot. Seems we're not fully ready to put our fate in the hands of automation completely."

More chuckles. Ritsuko exchanged a glance with Misato, then looked over at the table where the Russians were sitting.

All of them were focused on the Director, silently sitting. Ritusko watched as one aide leaned over to say something in The General's ear. He just nodded.

"In any case," The director said, "Piloted or not, the control system has multiple redundant checks that prevent a third party from gaining control remotely. Each system is also compartmentalized, allowing an operator to isolate certain sectors of a code should it go defective. Believe me, unlike some other giant robots that draw attention to themselves, Jet Alone will be well behaved."

Yui blinked. "You seem to think your robot is capable of surpassing the Evangelions of our organization, Director."

"Yes," The Director replied, "We do. Does this make you feel threatened, Doctor?"

"No," Yui replied, "Only that I will promise you that only Evangelions can defeat Angels, no matter what you have accomplished here. It is a point of fact."

The Developers looked at one another and comments went between them, unheard by the microphone. Ritsuko glanced over at the Russians and was a little surprised when she saw the General looking straight at her. His gaze lingered long enough for her to recognize, before he turned his head to face the platform again.

The Director was speaking. "As the JDSSF's PHASER artfully demonstrated this past weekend, doctor, Technology will provide an answer to defeating the AT fields. Jet Alone's modularity assures that when that technology IS available, Jet Alone will be ready to utilize it at first opportunity. After that we'll see how long NERV's special treatment by the government holds out when a cheaper… and more reliable… alternative is available."

This got more laughs from the assembled buyers. Many of them, Ritsuko guessed, also had a hand in the various scientific communities who still frowned down on NERV's 'Fringe Science'. It must have been entertaining to see NERV being humbled by reality.

And as Yui sat down after handing over the microphone, and as Misato grunted angrily, Ritsuko looked over at the Russians.

They were not laughing.


	13. Object

XIII

Object

As expected, when Shinji and the girls returned to class they were the subject of many stares and hushed whispers. Shinji resumed his seat, and after Hikari took hers some of the girls seated by her looked at one another, and then glanced at Shinji with frowns.

The pain from the bruises had let up a little by the time class ended. And as Shinji wrote down the assignment on the borrowed sheets of paper he realized, again, that he had no home to go to. True, he would be shopping with Hikari and Rei… and he COULD perhaps find another apartment complex to rent… but…

Shinji looked up and saw Hikari's girlfriends had clustered around her as most of the class was leaving. Shinji blinked.

"H-Hey, Ikari…"

Shinji turned. Kensuke was taking a seat on the desk beside him. "Look… I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

Shinji placed a hand on the bruised cheek. "Well… I knew it was going to happen."

"I didn't." Kensuke said, "I-I thought I knew Touji better than that. But… you gotta understand where he's coming from- his kid sister was everything to him. Can you imagine what it's like for him, to be unable to do anything to stop her from getting killed?"

"I wish he could have told me instead of hitting me."

"He feels he needs to do something about it. That's a thing I know about Touji," Kensuke replied, "He does stuff. Hits stuff. Whenever he's upset or angry or whatever he pushes people. He's a jock because most of his life since his mom's died has been kinda hellish for him. He's gotta have some kind of outlet. Since NERV crushed his sister, he needs to hit the nearest NERV guy."

Shinji sighed.

"Anyway, I wanted to say that I'm sorry, again. I didn't know he'd try to pull something like that."

"You didn't do anything to stop him?"

"…He told me he went off to the gym."

"So he lied. Like he did in the classroom."

Kensuke didn't say anything.

"Thank you for the apology." Shinji uttered.

Hikari's raised tone of voice turned Shinji's head. He was too late to catch the words, but Hikari was moving away from her girlfriends- all of which who were staring at Hikari with discontent. "Shinji? Rei?" Hikari said, "Let's go."

Shinji blinked, looking from her to the girlfriends and back again. "Sure."

He stood, turning to see Rei already standing. The three of them walked to the door.

One of the girls uttered something as they passed, and Shinji turned his head a little. Hikari's pace quickened.

After they were gone one of the girls uttered, "Who the hell does she think she is?"

* * *

"How the HELL did they know about the AT Field?" Misato was raging, attacking one of the locker doors repeatedly with her foot, "The fuckers are living it up at our expense aren't they! This is their revenge for all the times we had to put our feet up their asses to get them to do ANYTHING!"

Ritsuko just watched the Lt. General go to town on the locker with indifference. In her hands she held the documentation for the Jet Alone robot. While most of it was classified, there WAS some information of interest. She paged through another part of the document, coming across what was written about the cockpit.

Yui was burning hers. "It doesn't matter," She said, "these people are small. Let them have their moment while it lasts."

"The Leak in security doesn't concern you, then?" Ritsuko asked.

"It does to me! What the hell are we paying all those Section 2 people for if they can't do their goddamned jobs!"

"Some secrets can be released as long as others remain hidden." Yui said, dumping the burning pamphlet in the wastebasket, "Their little automation will never supplant the Evangelions."

"Yeah, well tell that to the normal people who control the government. That thing out there is estimated to cost a fraction of the price it takes to run an Evangelion. In this economy, how are you doing to persuade them NOT to cut our budget and run those… things instead?"

"It will be taken care of." Yui said, taking her lap top out of its case, "If you will excuse me Doctor, Lt. General, I have some work to do."

Misato sighed angrily and turned sharply to march out of locker rooms, grunting, "I need a drink."

Ritsuko remained for a moment.

"…Something on your mind doctor?" Yui asked without turning.

Ritsuko hesitated, and took a breath, "Now that I have a moment… there is something I wish to discuss with you. A personal matter."

"I do not have time to discuss things of that nature, doctor."

"It concerns your son."

She stopped typing, but did not turn or move her fingers. "What do you have to say?"

Ritsuko took a breath. "I'm not sure how I feel about… taking care of him as I have. It seems I've become a kind of surrogate… parent to him. Since you are his mother, I wanted to discuss what should be done-"

"Do you oppose being my son's caregiver?"

Ritsuko blinked. "I… I suppose not, but-"

"Then things will remain the way they are. I am far too busy to attend to the duties myself." She resumed typing.

Ritsuko hesitated. "I… I see. Very well doctor." She turned and left, closing the door behind her. Misato was already gone, so she could not have seen Ritsuko pause beside the door, wondering if she understood the outcome of the conversation right.

* * *

Hikari's pace was quick as they left the building, and Shinji found himself making wide strides to catch up with her. He glanced back occasionally to make sure Rei was still keeping up.

"Uh…Hikari?" He finally asked as they approached the bus stop.

The girl sighed and slowed her pace. "I'm sorry Shinji…I…" She ended with another sigh and just looked to the bus stop they were headed for.

Shinji glanced back at the school. "What did they say that…?" He trailed off as he looked back at her and read the distress in her expression. Blinking, he asked, "I-Is it my fault?"

"Oh Shinji," She said, stopping and turning to him. Her face was full of something to say, but she changed her mind and her head lowered. "Shinji you don't have to worry about it."

"W-What?"

"It's nothing! Nothing you need to worry about." She said, leaning forward a little. His expression didn't change, and finally she sighed again and shook her head a little. "Some people don't like me… seeing you."

"I-I know…" Shinji said, absently bringing a hand to the bruised cheek. He looked away.

Hikari turned to look at his expression and quickly spoke, "Oh no! Shinji, I'm not telling you to leave or anything!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely," She said, reaching out a hand and putting it on his shoulder, "It's my choice who I hang out with, after all." Hikari smiled a little.

He smiled back, and looked away again. "I-I was afraid… I wouldn't be allowed to see you. Just like… like Asuka."

"Well," Hikari said, "You can count on me to fight my way to see you." Her smile came back and her fingers danced across his shoulder to his neck, "I'm getting fonder of you by the minute Mr. Shinji. You're not like anyone else I've met before."

"…R-Really?"

"You don't believe me?"

Shinji winced. "Your whole life, nobody like me?"

Hikari glanced back at the school. "I know… it's not much… but" She just shrugged.

Shinji smiled.

Rei spoke. "The bus is approaching."

* * *

Exclusion Zone 28 was the perfect ground for the testing of weapons and machinery because nothing of importance was here anymore. It used to be the biggest city in Japan, bustling with thousands of people shuffling about their daily lives. It had been a port of trade, it had been a hub of commerce, it had seen the lives of so many people cycling in and through. Not anymore. Not after the bomb.

At the edge of the sunken, irradiated wreckage of the city was the only one facility remaining of that busy metropolis. It was the prime test zone for the JDSSF and various private companies that wanted to test something large and dangerous. This was frequently weapons and heavy machinery. TRIDENT had been tested here, and apparently the PHASER and other weapons had been destined for this place at one time or another. Today, it would be for Jet Alone.

It was housed within the concrete barricade at the far end of the terminal. While normally reserved for experimental rockets, the preparation and launch center was just tall enough to accommodate the revolutionary walker. The transport for the unit, the _Ebba Mærsk_, was offshore in the distance. Surrounding it were a few other ships, including the Russian Battlecruiser _Kirov_.

"Looks like he rode here in style." Misato said behind the binoculars.

They were in Control Complex B of the Oversight dome, which was angled towards the hangar where Jet Alone was held. The windows also gave a look out into Tokyo Bay where Misato now was surveying the ships out at the fleet. It would be a few moments before Jet Alone was active.

Yui seemed disinterested in the proceedings, arms crossed and looking skyward as the conversations at room level continued past her hearing. Ritsuko stared at the doctor for a moment, remembering the conversation they had only a half-hour prior. She sighed a little and looked out at the command area.

The Russians were apparently not afraid to let NERV know they were the backers, for Russian Officers were mingling among the control spaces but not actually touching anything- just hanging on the sides of the control room. The General himself was near the command dais, speaking to some of his officers. Ritsuko watched him finish the conversation and say something to another lieutenant, before he stepped forward alone and crossed his arms. His head turned in her direction.

She looked away once more, turning her gaze to an instrument panel. The Russians were obviously keen on NERV's presence here but what were they getting at?

"This is Casket, preparing for egress. Slats one and two report ready."

She turned her head to another part of the room and then turned her body to lean differently on the railing of the observation platform, raised above both the ground outside and the command level. She listened and observed the operations going on even if she couldn't see the instruments.

"Pilot check."

"Pilot confirm." A voice replied. Ritsuko winced… it was a man's voice…yet…

"Pilot has entered the control capsule," One of the operators announced, "Capsule sealed."

"Pilot respiration and biological functions check."

"Pilot integration shows green."

The General turned his head.

"This is Shchuka. I am ready to begin."

"Acknowledged, Starshiy Leytenant Shchuka." The operator responded, fumbling over the Russian and turning Misato's head. He turned to the director, "All systems ready."

"Starshiy Leytenant…" Misato voiced, "Russian. There's a Russian Senior Lieutenant in there!" Her binoculars went to the casket.

The Director, at the back chair, nodded. He turned to The General and some words were discussed. Finally he pulled back to his seat and spoke into a pickup. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will now demonstrate the Jet Alone. Please bring your attention to the windows, we will be opening the casket imminently."

Ritsuko couldn't help herself from turning around and looking over the heads of everyone else crowded by the windows.

Lights flashed at the top of the casket. Then…

The doors parted.

Immediately the torso of Jet Alone became visible, and mroe of the machine came into focus as the two halves of the bunker pulled apart. Compared to an Evangelion, Jet Alone was taller even than the shoulder-pylons of unit 01 and 02. It had no head, but instead a V-shaped crest with lighted segments. A scaffold was pulling back from there, and Ritsuko could guess this was where the cockpit was. The arms and legs of the model seemed… thicker than she would have expected. Then she remembered something about Myomer limbs… a new feature installed thanks to the latest budget increases of the program.

"Scaffold has cleared the unit. Jet Alone is clear."

"Jet alone all-balance systems report ready."

An operator clicked over some buttons. A master display chart in view came up green in a segmented silhouette of the Jet Alone. "All Myomer bundles show green. Unit is free-standing at rest."

"Myomer… why does that sound familiar?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko said, "Artificial musculature. Went more or less unnoticed in the scientific community, but it seems someone's picked it up and ran with it." She walked to the windows, where Misato handed her the binoculars for her to get a look at the unit herself. "Looks less anorexic than the previous proposal depictions I've seen. I hope they've solved the chemical reaction problems that I've heard about Myomer."

"Chemical reaction problems?" Misato asked.

"Yes. I read an article saying that when under power and exposed to Argon gas, Myomer can explode."

Misato made an amused grin. "Wouldn't it be fun if we saw this thing go up like a firecracker?"

"And kill the pilot inside? How cruel of you. Besides," Ritsuko handed the binoculars back to Misato, "I doubt they would have put on a demonstration if it still had a problem. And that article, I recall, was published about a decade ago."

Misato grunted unhappily but resumed observing the unit.

"Alright," The director said, "Commence startup."

"Commencing startup!"

"All pre-phase checks complete. Beginning reactor activation sequence."

The pilot's voice came in. "Engine start-up. Main lines confirmed."

A graphic showing all the power-lines tracing to the myomer bundles appeared on a wall display.

"Initial power couplings confirmed…" Two beeps, then the operator continued, "All areas showing positive response."

"Reactor?" The director asked.

"Still warming. Now approaching operational levels."

Jet Alone shuddered slightly, and some watching the unit jumped, startled.

"No need to worry about that," The director said, "When receiving a charge, the unit's movement systems jolt like that. Nothing compared to roaring and ripping up city blocks."

Laughter. Misato grunted, "I wish to God he'd shut up."

Yui remained quiet.

The operations continued.

"Pressure normal, all reactor areas showing green."

"Cooling Circulation systems check…" More toning, "All Heat Sinks are functioning normally."

"Jet Alone power… confirmed. At Operational status."

"Confirm." The pilot said, "All systems show green on the status boards. Ready for operation."

"Very good!" The Director said, "Now, Lieutenant, if you could be so good as to start walking for us?"

"Acknowledged." The voice replied, and Jet Alone began to move. A massive foot moved up and the unit artfully shifted its balance, landing the limb gracefully just beyond the confines of the hangar space.

"Foot down," The operators announced over the awe of the onlookers, "Settlement confirmed… balance still green. All myomers complied and conformed to simulated results."

Misato grumbled. "Never saw anyone so exited over one step."

Ritsuko smiled, remembering fondly Shinji's first- similar- experiences in the Evangelion. Realizing she was smiling, she winced and glanced over at Yui. Doctor Ikari was still staring into space, uninterested.

"Alright lieutenant, you know what to do." The Director said.

"Acknowledged." The voice replied, and the unit began another step. Then another, then another.

"Unit is attaining…" An operator said, checked a number, and reported, "23kph."

"Only the walking speed." The Director said, "We estimate with the Myomer Acceleration Signal Circutry engaged, Jet Alone can accomplish up to-"

He stopped as something buzzed in the room. He turned to one of his advisors.

"Control," The pilots' voice said, "I'm registering a general error on my status board. Coming to all stop…"

Jet Alone kept walking.

"No response on controls."

"What?" One of the operators asked. Another spoke up, "Control, this is Reactor. We're reading increase in reactor pressure."

"Coolant temperature in the heat sinks is also beginning to rise!" Another operator announced.

The pilot spoke once more. "Manual control is not responding. Attempting all emergency stops."

A buzzing. "Control, we are reading pilot override signals… but the central CPU has rejected the command."

"Impossible!" The Director said.

By now Jet Alone was approaching the command dome. Some of the observers were backing away nervously.

Another buzzer rang on the consoles. Now the Russians were leaning forward and speaking to the technicians.

"Shchuka here," The pilot reported, "Negative on all abort signals. Requesting permission to compromise the programming core."

"Negative!" The Director replied, "Try the aborts!"

"Ineffective!" The pilot replied, "I am breaking the computer seal!"

An operator confirmed it. "Showing Jet Alone Primary OS access from pilot cabin!"

"Fine!" The Director said, "Someone try to find out where the bug is to make it stop before-!"

The pilot reported, "Closing on command dome, brace for impact!"

Impact came when a giant foot crashed into the dome just beyond the observation deck. Many had already fled for cover up until the last minute. Ritsuko covered her head as Jet Alone's cleat crashed through the concrete ceiling. There was lots of noise and shaking as Jet Alone's foot settled. Ritsuko only had a moment to glance at it before it moved up again, departing the building to smash into another section.

When it was all over a gaping hole had been ripped into the ceiling and several consoles smashed. Ritusko could also see that some of the Russians were recovering from pulling technicians from their seats.

The General hadn't recoiled though. He was speaking to the Project Director off-microphone.

Misato coughed. "Just as rude as the fuckers who built the damn thing."

Ritsuko was more concerned with what had just happened. She abandoned the observation deck and made her way back along the control complex… to confront the Director in person.

As she walked, the operators who were still at their stations were speaking. "We're showing the beginnings of a reactor meltdown… the control rods are not responding and coolant is increasing!"

"All reject codes not responsive!"

Ritsuko started up the staircase towards the Director's dais. As she approached, she was hearing talk from above, "I think it looks like the CPU system was compromised. _Something_ in there is rejecting all input."

"Could it be something programmed in?"

"I can't think of a bit of code that would actually _do_ this."

Ritsuko made it to the top.

The Director, his two aides, and The General all turned. Ritsuko's eyes went to the Russian first, who gave her an impassive stare. Ritsuko blinked away and advanced on the Director. "What is the problem?"

The Director hesitated at seeing a NERV employee here, witnessing the shame, and sighed as he turned back to the console, "We've tracked the problem to something in the CPU. It seems all of our input commands are being rejected by a program put in there."

"NOTHING in our inventory is tasked to do this…except…" An aide said.

Ritsuko stared at him. "…Except?"

The Director nodded. "Condition N." He leaned his head back to look at the ceiling, "Nuclear war."

"Explain." Ritsuko demanded.

An aide turned his chair to face him, glancing at The General. The man only nodded slightly, allowing the aide to speak, "One of Jet Alone's functions was to continue operations in the event of a nuclear war. In the proposed scenario, it would be programmed to continue following its last instructions in the event of the pilot's death or attempted hacks from the outside via wireless."

Ritsuko blinked, startled to discover Jet Alone was also a doomsday weapon as well. "Was there an abort?"

"The only way to abort it is a full system shut-down," The Director said, "And we'd need high clearance for that."

"Then I suggest you get it." Ritsuko said.

The Director turned to an aide, who had already pulled open a phone. "In the meantime," Ritsuko said, "That thing is walking. Where is it headed?"

An Aide spoke up. "It's courses is the city of Atsugi… estimated time of arrival…" He shook his head, "It'll blow somewhere downtown."

The Director got on the PA. "Lieutenant, can you steer the unit?"

"Negative." The pilot's voice replied, "I have no response on steerage or throttle. The unit is continuing in a straight line. Control… I've isolated the un-responsive code to-"

"Never mind that, we've found it! It's resisting auto-deletes, correct?"

"Correct." The pilot replied, "But it appears open to programming."

That got one of the aides to look up, "Do you have the instruction manual open?"

"Yes."

"Page 4-38D. Implement that code."

"Working."

The Aide turned to Ritsuko, "The Exasperation code. If Jet Alone's mainframe is still open to programming, there's a contingency that can flood all operational processes with so much information the system will lock-up. If it stops, then we go out there with a recovery team and halt the reactor manually."

Ritsuko nodded.

"Code entered." The pilot said, "….No response."

The Director huffed a curse.

"Control," The pilot continued, "Recommend explosive bolts on the legs."

The Director looked at his aides, and then said, "Lieutenant, the shock protection system there won't be able to help you from a dead free-fall!"

"I'm aware of the risk."

The Director looked to The General. The General stared back. The Director moved back to the microphone, "Do it. Authorization code NGE."

"General systems freed," the pilot replied, "Preparing to fire."

Silence.

"…No response. All functions frozen… I've just lost input command on the terminal."

"God Damn It!" An aide wailed, "Whose done this!"

"Command," The pilot voiced, "Permission to egress the vehicle and manually disengage the control rods."

As Ritsuko was imagining how someone could climb across the surface of a swaying, towering robot, she was startled to see The General leaning forward to the control console, depress a switch, and speak Russian into the microphone pickup.

The pilot responded.

The General toned back, clam and level, but with a voice of authority. Then he leaned up again.

"…Acknowledged," The pilot came back bitterly, "I will continue my efforts to shut down the unit from here."

Ritsuko blinked, looking at the General. He turned his head and stared at her with those eyes. Startled, she turned back to the task with an idea, "Wait… manual disengagement? How is that possible?"

The Director turned, then leaned forward to pull up a schematic. He hesitated as it was up, realizing he was showing a classified plan to someone, but then looked back at the schematic. "There's a reactor control cubicle at the back of the unit. It was supposed to be a maintenance cubby for when the unit was primarily an automaton… The Lieutenant wanted to go back there and see if he could disengage the unit himself."

"Is it possible?"

The Director leaned up and away from the panel, staring at his creation's guts. Finally he sighed and siad, "It's possible. From there you could access the main reactor's programming directly, along with the unit's CPU. Though… the Cockpit should have been able to access anything that's there-"

"We have to try it." Ritsuko said.

"What? But… that's-"

Misato's voice spoke up, "There's no other option," She came on to the command dais, saying, "Your rampaging nuclear toy has got to be stopped before it blows. How else to you plan on averting this catastrophe, one that you caused?"

"But we didn't-" The Director said, looking at the faces arrayed against him.

The General crossed his arms.

Defeated, the Director said, "Very well… I-I'll have to call around for access authority but-"

"No time." Misato said, "Just give me what I need to shut it down."

One of the aides opened a drawer on the operations desk and pulled out a thick wire-bound manual. He flipped it to a page, stared at the director with hesitation, then at the General and then to Misato as he handed her the book. She took it.

"…Hope," The Director said, "Is the password."

Both women looked at one another, and then at the Director. "Thank you," Misato said, and then turned to start down the stairway to the ground level as she dug out her cell phone from her pocket.

The Director turned away from the control console and paced to the back of the room. Ritsuko felt a tinge of regret for the man… despite his ego, how would Ritsuko have reacted to see one of the Evangelions go berserk? All that work wasted? She turned to go, but saw The General looking at her.

His gaze lingered for a moment, but then he turned away and spoke something to one of the Aides in Russian.

Ritsuko turned away and started down the stairway, wondering how Misato planned on convincing the jetcopter pilot to drop her on that bobbing monstrosity.

She was in for a surprise.

* * *

The only time Shinji could recall shopping for anything other than groceries was when his aunt would pull him along as a sounding board and pack mule. As he was growing up it was usually his aunt and uncle who bought clothes for him… often, as he discovered, from goodwill stores or sales. This would explain his present attire of a dark blue undershirt, white top shirt, and black pants with black shoes. It had been one of three outfits he took with him when he came to Tokyo-3, and had been the only outfit he was wearing for the past four days.

Today that was about to change.

Hikari had picked the bus route, promising him it would be good, and the three of them rode into the city from the outskirts. Their end destination was Tokyo-3's only shopping mall (at least that Shinji was aware of), and Hikari immediately set into the men's section of the first department store they came across.

After about ten minutes of looking through clothes, Shinji found himself with three new pairs of shirts, and they were moving through pants. He blinked.

"How about these?" She asked, feeling a pair of codory pants. She handled them, frowned, and said, "Actually maybe not… they make swisshy noises when you walk. Then again…" she made a mischievous grin, "Hey Rei, what do you think? Should Shinji be swishy when he walks?"

"H-Hey…"

"The sensation would be interesting."

"See! She likes them!" Hikari pulled off a pair in Shinji's established size and handed them to him. Shinji blinked. She said to his hesitance, "You don't like them?"

"N-No! I-"

"Good!" Hikari replied and heaped the pants on to the stack Shinji was holding. Then she did a count, and said, "All right! I think we have you all settled out. Now… about Rei…"

Shinji's cell phone buzzed. "Er…"

Hikari heard the muffled sound of angry hornets and slid her arms under the clothes, brushing Shinji's, and lifting his load off his arms. He found himself blushing at how close her face got to his… "Well?" She asked.

"O-Oh…" Shinji said, taking up the phone.

MAYA, I

He opened the phone. "M-Maya?"

"Shinji! I'm sorry to bother you… but we need you and Rei back at the cages."

Shinji felt his hair bristle and his skin begin to whiten. "A-Ang-"

"No! It's not an angel attack… Um… I'll have to fill you in when you get down here. I need to call Rei too-"

"S-She's here."

"Really! Wonderful! Both of you need to come down to the cages."

Shinji swallowed. "W-What about Asuka…"

"Asuka… oh! Shinji, the order was rescinded this morning by your mom."

"Really?"

"Uhm-hm! Now, get down here as quick as you can!"

"I-Is it really that urgent? I…um…"

"I'm afraid so. Some of this is classified… I just need you here in the cages and changed."

"I-I see…." Shinji replied, "I'll be there."

"Alrighty!" Maya replied and hung up.

Shinji looked at his phone.

"You have to go?" Hikari asked.

"Y-Yeah…"

Hikari smiled. "Well, it's a start of a date." She leaned forward and gave the already blushing Shinji Ikari a quick peck on the cheek. "Do well okay?"

Shinji smiled, "I-I will….er…"

Hikari shrugged with Shinji's clothes. "I think I can pay for them. Just pay me back okay? Somehow." She winked.

Shinji smiled again. "Thanks Hikari." He turned, "R-Rei? We're both being asked to go to the cages, right away."

"Understood."

"Erm…" Shinji looked around, "I don't know where the nearest entry to the base is…"

"I will direct you." Rei said, and turned to Hikari. "Thank you, Hikari, for the demonstration."

"D-Demonstration?" Shinji blinked.

Hikari didn't know what that meant either. "N-No problem…"

Rei turned and started for the door at a quick pace. Shinji looked at Hikari one more time, gave a smile, and hurried after her.

This left Hikari in the department store alone. She sighed, and then looked at the bale of clothes. She honestly hadn't figured how she was going to pay for them. "I hope Kodama won't kill me if I dig into some of the grocery money…"

/-

"You sure you know what you're doing?"

"You've known me too long to be asking that question." Misato said as she tugged on the radiation suit.

Ritsuko was by the door, arms crossed. "This is new. You've never risked irradiating yourself pulling off something stupid."

"I have no choice, Ritsu." Misato replied and started to slip her hands into the garments, "What would you have me do, stand by and just watch as the thing explodes?"

"I'd prefer some other solution than going in there and getting yourself fried! There's enough radiation in there for a lethal exposure in under two minutes!"

"Without protection." Misato said, pulling up the seal, "As long as this suit can take it, I couldn't care less."

Ritsuko just stared at the woman as she suited up.

Misato picked up her cell phone. "If you have a technical reason to stop me-"

Ritsuko blinked. "I get enough of that shit from Kyoko, Misato. Don't start."

Misato smirked and dialed a number into the cell. "Hyuga? Misato. Are the children assembled?… Good. Yes I know, don't worry about Asuka, Doctor Akagi's filled me in on her situation and she gets a pass. I just wanted to know how unit 0 is doing. Still? I thought… Oh, really? Is he there? He isn't? Ok… we'll have to do this with unit 01 then. Have it fitted for F-type equipment, its going to be doing a lot of running."

"Running?" Ritsuko asked, "In F-type gear?"

Misato turned. "Isn't F-type the Fast type?"

"I-type, for Interception. F-type is Field Guidance equipment."

"I-Type then… really? You're a lifesaver Hyuga. Get over here with Shinji as soon as you can then!" She snapped the phone closed and set it down. She picked up the helmet, "Commander Ikari's out of town and has put a hold on unit 00."

"Really?" Ritsuko asked, blinking. "He's never left Tokyo-03 before."

"I know," Misato said, fitting the helmet over her head, "Were I conspiracy theorist, I wondered if he deliberately planned on being out of the country during a catastrophe." She started sealing the helmet, "Gotta be easier ways to knock off people other than saving face."

Ritsuko didn't say anything as Misato turned around to face her in the suit. She smiled. "Wish me luck, Ritsu."

"Of course."

Misato gave her the V fingers as she left the room. Ritsuko didn't follow immediately, as she had the strange feeling this might be the last time she saw her friend healthy and whole.

* * *

Tokyo-03 had a small dedicated airstrip at the south end of the city, aimed out over lake Ashi. It was just large enough to accommodate a Northrop-Grumman LB-5 "Big Wing" strato-bomber… one of the few fixed-wing aircraft capable of flying an entire Evangelion.

Shinji saw the B-5 Big Wing as he rode in the jeep with Maya. Aoba was driving it while Maya was going over a computer, facing Shinji in the back seat. Her voice cried over the roar of the engine and the wind, "The plan is to air-drop you close to the target! The Lt. general will be parachuting near your location and you will have to catch her! After that, you'll have to run to intercept the Jet Alone robot and stop it to let Misato board on the back power-pack!"

Shinji winced and shielded his eyes in the light as he looked at the monitor. The side-silhouette of the Jet Alone was projected, with a door outlined in yellow.

"Once she's on board," Maya kept hollering, "You have to do your best to restrain the unit! Coordinate with JA's Pilot if you have to!"

"It has a pilot!" Shinji roared back.

"Yes! But the computer system is disabled on his end!" Maya said.

They now passed under the wing of the colossal aircraft and motored to the back end. Aoba stopped the car just underneath the Evangelion, where a long folding staircase lead up into the cavernous bomb bay. He turned to Shinji as the pilot disembarked and hollered, "Good luck!" and clapped the boy on the shoulder. Shinji smiled at the encouragement, and hurried after Maya to hurry up the stairs.

It was a long way up, and Shinji tried not to look down. He focused on Maya's back as they ascended into the bomb bay. Near the top he glanced behind himself at the distant pavement beneath, and saw Aoba's car driving away.

Then he got a look at the Evangelion.

From what he could see, the shoulder panels had been refitted somehow. He couldn't see the tell-tale breaks in the pylons where the progressive knives were stored (a fact he was made to memorize during his first training session). They seemed bulkier…

"Shinji!"

Shinji turned around and finished ascending the stairs, passing through a pressurized compartment door before entering the aircraft. An air crewmen secured the door while another guided Maya and Shinji back along the aircraft.

An American's voice was speaking, but Shinji couldn't understand the words. Finally they were brought into another compartment and seated. Maya belted herself in, and prompted Shinji to do as well.

He looked up and saw large, red, English characters on the doorway. Translations were pasted beneath it, including one in Japanese. "HANGAR ACCESS."

Shinji swallowed at the idea of having to board the Evangelion on a swinging, swaying aircraft.

* * *

Hikari hummed along softly as she walked back up the street to her house- the large bag of clothes in hand. She was almost there.

Her thoughts on the excuse she was forming for her sister were interrupted when a loud roar reached her ears. Wincing, she turned and looked in the direction of the sound. Shading her eyes, she made out the huge form of a black flying wing banking in the sky, heading north.

"Shinji…." She uttered. It had to be.

She watched the aircraft finish the banking maneuver and resume level flight. She could just make out some kind of form dangling beneath it… large and purple.

"Be safe…" She said quietly as the giant bomber disappeared over the hills.


	14. Acrobatics

XVI

Acrobatics

"Ready?"

Shinji swallowed. He didn't like this. Not one bit. But what choice did he have, given what was at stake? He nodded.

The American technician gestured to the officer by the hatch. It opened.

Immediately the roar of air rushed through the hatchway as the Bomber proceeded at speed to the target destination. Now that they had leveled off, Shinji was to proceeded to his Evangelion. There was no time to load him up beforehand.

The American assisting him in the boarding reached up and clapped the two carabiners for their lifelines on the overhead railing. He didn't speak any Japanese, but communicated by gestures. Not that Shinji would be able to hear him, anyway. As he made it out of the doorway he looked back to see Maya giving him a thumbs-up.

Shinji swallowed, and then stepped out into the gale with assistance from the airman. Immediately the wind ripped right through him- blasting his face and hair. The airman, fully suited, assisted him by moving Shinji's hand out to a safety rail line and closing the fist around it. He shouted something to Shinji. Shinji just nodded, and then the two of them started across the railing.

Fortunately they were only going a short distance to the back of the neck, passing to one side of the head. He had seen the head before of course, always having to board from just over the shoulder, but at this angle he could look beyond the restraints holding the Evangelion to the bomber and the feet in the distance. This thing was long!

Slowly they made their way across the service gantry and approached the back of the Evangelion. Shinji looked again up at the pylons, seeing the strange refits and the clamps that were holding the Evangelion in place.

Then he made the mistake of looking down.

It's one thing to see the ground from on high in photographs. Those weren't moving. It was a whole other thing to be this high up, so unprotected…

Shinji stumbled and the Airman's hands immediately grabbed him. The airman shouted something he couldn't understand, repeated it, and then helped Shinji get back up. He gestured to the plug in the distance and Shinji nodded, feeling ever colder as the breeze blew by.

The droning of the engines was also getting louder as they cleared the hull of the aircraft and entered the middle of the bomb bay. The roar was a loud bass rumble, making everything shudder, down to Shinji's eardrums. He would have covered his ears, but he was too frightened of letting go.

Finally they reached a platform that forked to either side of the Eva's head. The Airman reached up and transferred his carabiner first, and Shinji held on to the railing with both hands in a death grip. God…

The other carabiner was transferred, and then they resumed their trek.

Shinji swallowed as they neared the end of the rampway. Finally they were close to the Evangelion's neck, and the bare purple hull was just off the catwalk's edge. Shinji looked, then realized what he had to do.

He had to mount on the Evangelion hull unassisted and climb into the Entry plug.

Shinji started to look down again but the Airman shook him, then pointed at his shoes, and then splayed his fingers like a claw as he spoke English. Shinji didn't understand, but looked down and raised a foot to look at the bottom of the suit's sole.

There was a grip pattern etched into it.

The Airman patted Shinji's shoulder. He knelt, then made the claw again with one hand and put it on the flat surface of the other.

Shinji nodded in understanding- he hoped- that his suit would help him grip the Evangelion hull and at least would keep him from slipping.

The Airman pointed to spots on the Evangelion hull. Shinji had never stood this close to the Eva's surface before, and quickly realized the Airman was pointing out handholds. The Airman then tugged Shinji's line, and pointed to where the carabiner was hooked to the safety railing… which ran over the head of the Evangelion. Shinji nodded. The Airman stepped back, taking a hold of Shinji's lifeline and the boy moved toward the edge of the catwalk.

…He would be doing what?

The back of the Evangelion moved, and Shinji watched the neck plate move out of the way for the white cylinder of the Entry Plug to emerge and open. Shinji looked back at the way he would have to climb, nodded, and then looked down-

The airman tugged his lifeline, drawing Shinji's look. The airman pointed at the ground, shook his head, then pointed at the plug.

Shinji swallowed. Shivering, he reached out for the first hand hold and took it, then put a foot out on to the purple hull of the Evangelion. He swallowed, and then started the climb.

He was surprised the grip on the soles was as good as it was. Maybe NERV technology was largely underestimated. Perhaps the angle that he was looking at was-

Shinji slipped.

* * *

The YAGR-3B "Dragon" Close-Air Support craft was billed as an even more capable attack and transport helicopter than the Mi-24 Hind. When it came to prove it however…

The VTOL Misato had commandeered for this operation was hovering not too far behind the rampant Jet Alone, along with three other observation helicopters from Japan Heavy Chemicals Industries, monitoring the robot and preparing to move in for assistance if necessary. There was one other VTOL in the area, from the _Kiev_. The Ka-31 "Helix" was at a discreet distance as well, flying level just behind Jet Alone.

Misato, garbed in the radiation uniform, also had a bulky parachute pack on and was waiting by the egress hatch for the VTOL. There wasn't any time for the Heavy Bomber and Evangelion to land and let Misato board- plus there was no logical way for her to be in position on the Evangelion when it was dropped. If she hung out on the armor well…

"Any sign of them yet?" Misato asked through the suit's pickup.

"No ma'am." The VTOL operator replied, "Wing Five reports they are five minutes out. The pilot is still in the boarding procedure."

Misato glanced at a chronometer in sight. There was a half hour till detonation. She blinked, then said, "If Wing isn't here with the payload in another five minutes, I want you to find a way to put me on the back of that thing."

"Lt. General?"

"That's an order, Major."

"…Yes ma'am." The VTOL operator replied and took another look at the back of the Jet Alone, trying to plan a way to get the ranking officer down on the back of JA without breaking her neck. It wouldn't be easy on the swaying platform. He clicked the channel over to the back, "Ichijo, break out the drop line."

* * *

Never before had Shinji Ikari's heart beaten so fast.

The lifeline was taught against his waist, and as he came to realize where he was and what happened, he recognized two things.

First, that he was _under_ the Evangelion. The line attaching him to the jet disappeared over a purple section.

The second was that his arm was gripping a yellow part of the neck armor. Above him was the purple plate on the shoulder and to his left was the Evangelion's chin. He swallowed and took deep breaths, trying to calm down and ignore the fact that there was little beneath him.

The Airman called out something in English.

Shinji tried to scream 'Pull me up!' but opening his mouth just lost his words to the wind, and it only came out as a scream.

The line seemed to 'tug' twice. The Airman was still with him.

Shinji pulled himself closer to the yellow plate of the neck armor and looked around. Facing the front of the Eva, he was right of the center part on the neck armor. The shoulder guard was above him and to the right he saw the brace locked around the bolt-holes on the shoulder. To the left of him was the head and chin. He looked up.

His only hope was to scale along the gaps in the armor and round the head. There was a rim to the Evangelions' head armor, but it was too far away from the main hull to brace his foot against. The best he could do was brace against two armor plates along the dark spot on the head. Shinji swallowed, and then began his climb.

The wind was harsh, the sound incredible, and he was getting colder and colder. But the only way out of this mess, and save the day, was to climb. He had no time to dilly dally.

Yet.. he was doing it. As he climbed up between the head and neck armor and braced himself with his legs, he found that he had rounded the lip of the armor and was coming back on to ground even enough to stand. His foot landed on the deck only when he was clear of the last lip of the armor, and it stuck this time.

The Airman was waving to him from the catwalk but Shinji continued onward, stepping further into the level ground and into the dark areas between the armor.

He almost fell backward again at being startled at how… soft that spot was. Blinking, he looked down at the black-on-black hexagonal webbing that covered the Evangelion underneath the armor. Wasn't this thing a robot? Or didn't Ritsuko say it was something else?

Never mind. His fingers were getting cold. He continued upward and saw the silvery structure of the Entry Plug, and scrambled over the mechanical workings to approach it.

It opened for him. The top hatchway eased up and open along the outside of the Cylinder. Shinji wasted no time scrambling into it. After he was in, he felt a tug around the waist and remembered the lifeline. He released the harness, pulled it off his body, and threw it out of the Eva.

The Airman paused in reeling in the line to give Shinji a wave, and a thumbs up. Shinji, shakily, waved back, and then engaged the plug closed.

As he settled into the couch, he recognized two things.

The first was that his pulse was incredible. He could hear his heartbeat rumbling in his head and the throbbing at his temples. He looked at his hand as the plug lit up and realized he was shivering from being so cold.

The second… well… there was a heaviness around the crotch of his plugsuit. He looked down and wondered what it could possibly be…

Oh.

Embarrassed, Shinji just sat in the chair and reminded himself NOT to let anyone know that he wet himself in his own plusguit.

* * *

"Wing Five reports the pilot has been secure."

"Understood." Misato replied, and asked, "Time to detonation?"

"Twenty three minutes."

Misato shifted away from the already open side-hatch of the VTOL and said, "Patch me through to Wing Five."

A moment. Then, "Hyuga here."

"Hyuga, change of plans. Drop Shinji as close as you can to Jet Alone and have him stabilize it. I'm gonna drop from the VTOL."

"Ma'am?"

"JUST DO IT!"

"…Acknowledged."

Misato shifted back to the door. In the cockpit, privy to the entire conversation, the Major flying the craft sighed and uttered to the gunner in the nose, "We'll take what we can get…"

The VTOL was already hovering close to the back of Jet Alone. Approaching from the rear was the long, dark form of the heavy bomber with its payload.

* * *

Shinji's pulse had decreased some by the time the plug was filled with LCL. Maya, in the bomb-bay compartment, was looking at the Evangelion's figure with her laptop open. She spoke into the headset handed to her by an airman, "This is NERV-D. We're ready for drop."

"Standby." Came from the pilot cabin.

Hyuga's voice came next, "Beginning pre-launch procedures."

"Shinji," Maya said as the Evangelion was extended outward, "We're going to be dropping you at an altitude of four thousand meters. It's no biggie, your Eva's designed to take a fall that high."

"Y-You sure?"

"Positive Shinji. After you're dropped, do your best to stop Jet Alone from moving while the Lt. Colonel is air-dropped on to the back."

"I-I'm not going to be catching her?"

"No time. All right Shinji, get ready to drop."

Shinji swallowed in the Entry Plug. It had finished powering up and he could see the ground beneath him. He took in a breath as the toning counted down.

"Three… two… one… release-!"

The clamps around the arm-guards of the Evangelion released, and the bolts on the shoulder snapped off. The Eva was in free-fall.

The altimeter started to flicker rapidly as Shinji descended. Grasping the controls, he grit his teeth as he tried to hold back the scream from the momentum. As the ground came up on him he winced, trying to picture how he would take the impa-

Shinji bounced gently in the cockpit as the Evangelion took the impact on one heel, the other dragging as that bent leg found some stability behind the Eva. He was down.

"Shinji!" Maya's voice radioed, "Get the Robot!"

Shinji started at a run immediately. His HUD outlined Jet Alone in red. He only briefly considered the other helicopters surrounding the walking automaton.

* * *

"Twenty minutes."

Misato swallowed. This would be cutting it close- she didn't know how long it would take her to board the unit and disable it.

"Eva one on approach." The Major reported from the cockpit.

Misato looked out of the VTOL's open hatch to try to see the Eva but she was on the wrong side. Soon, though, the VTOL swung and she saw the sprinting form of Evangelion 01 headed for Jet Alone. "Way ta go kid…" She uttered.

Misato heard some Russian over the radio, though "Eva 01" passed without needing translation. Misato glanced up to see if she could see the Helix that was still in the area. She turned her head as she heard the pilot's voice, "This is Shchuka. I am engaging the crane hooks."

On the exterior of Jet Alone a number of latches opened up, presumably to assist in the loading and unloading of the unit. This also included a convenient load-bar on the backpack.

Shinji, seeing it, angled an arm out to seize the unit. The right hand hooked around the bar. "Got it!"

Jet Alone stopped, straining against the pull of the Evangelion. Shinji dug in his heels and leaned backward against the unit's movement.

"November one," The Major called over the Radio, "Moving in for the drop."

"Shinji, hold it tight." Misato said over the radio and prepared to exit the VTOL.

"Shchuka," The pilot of Jet Alone said again, "I am now firing the emergency bolts on the side-hatch for the maintenance door. It will be on my left. Do you read, Evangelion?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Standby."

The VTOL was lining up underneath Jet Alone. Misato was already stepping out, grasping the zip line to prepare to descend.

"Bolts firing in three, two, one."

The left-side hatch on Jet Alone's backpack blew off and cart-wheeled away. Misato was halfway between JA and the VTOL…

…when the shudder rocked Jet Alone, and jarred the support bar. The left side came off.

"AH!" Shinji screamed, "MISATO!"

Jet Alone rocked and started to move again just as Misato hit the red hull of the unit and screamed.

The VTOL swayed under the sudden gust and the pilot began to ascent, crying, "Delta-Delta! Unit in distress!"

Shinji flung the left hand of Eva wide and bashed it into the side of the unit, digging fingers into the armor and getting a grip on the open doorway as the support bar he was holding started to give way.

Shinji saw Misato hit the emergency release on her harness, and the zip-line flew away as the VTOL did.

"November one," One of the chase helicopters reported, "Clear on ascent. Primary on station!"

A line of Russian came in from the Helix. The pilot responded, and then said, "Evangelion! You're loosing grip on the unit! Find another-"

The support bar let go and Jet alone surged forward again. Shinji's fingers, holding on the door, dug in heavily and deformed the metal.

Shinji threw the support bar and moved his other hand in to grab something else, finding purchase on another hook-

-But then the torso turned, letting the fingers slip out of the emergency hatch and allowing Jet Alone to move forward again.

"NO!" Shinji screamed as the Evangelion collapsed backward.

Jet Alone began to stride once more for Atsugi.

"Command," One of the chase helos reported, "JA is free!"

"Anyone got a status on the package? Lt. General, you read?"

"Y-Yeah…" Misato's voice finally said, "Leg's broken…"

Shinji started to pale.

"That means-"

"M-Moving for the ladder."

"Not on a broken leg! Katsuragi! Damnit!"

Shinji pushed off the ground and in a fluid motion started forward to run again. He started on a wide circle around Jet Alone.

"Evangelion one is back in operation."

"Shinji!" Maya's voice said, as overhead Wing Five was on a slow orbit, "Stop it gently because Lt. General Katsuragi is still on top!"

Shinji skidded to a stop before Jet Alone. The Robot walked right for him. He put up his hands.

Jet Alone rammed right into the Evangelion's arms, but came to a stop. Misato bounced once on the thing's back and gave another cry.

"Got it!" Shinji barked.

The Helicopters continued to circle. One of the helicopters spoke, "We've got nineteen minutes left to stop the reaction! Katsuragi, if you can't shut it down in ten till, we're aborting and clearing the area!"

"U-Understood…"

Shinji swallowed. He wanted to help Misato, but he had to stand firm and keep the thing from advancing. He was already at fault for letting it escape once.

* * *

Her right leg was broken, but she had no time to set it. Gritting her teeth, she crawled across the surface of Jet Alone, following the painted arrows to the side with the hatch open.

The top rungs were visible. Grabbing one, she slipped slowly off the side and began her descent, letting the wounded leg dangle as she made her way down.

"Package is descending on side-latter." She heard.

Grunting, Misato approached the open hatchway. Fortunately it had a step and an inside rail, so it was only a matter of getting her good leg in, holding on with the right, and reaching in with the left to pull herself inside. She collapsed though, and pain splashed through her right leg. She cried out again.

"Katsuragi! Report!"

"…I'm in…" She huffed, and then started into the cabin. Immediately her Geiger counter started to frazzle in her ears. It only got louder as she moved further into the unit.

Beyond a small corridor and, she guessed, at the center of Jet Alone's cross-section was a cabin about the size of her office back at NERV. Just in front of the back wall was a computer terminal, and in front of that were the rows of seven long cylinders- all pushed out of the reactor and with rings of red light at their base. These must have been the control rods.

Misato moved to the computer terminal. "Accessing the terminal…"

It responded. Leaning against the back wall and pushing off with her good leg, she reached into the suit pocket to pull out the manual she had been given. Flipping to the book-marked page, she began to enter in the code. "Katsuragi…here.." She huffed, "Skipping all beginning levels, moving to Terminal Code."

"Acknowledged." Ritsuko's distance voice sounded… probably from the command center radio and buffered by the insides of JA.

Misato swallowed. The yellow characters she was typing in contrasted with the red lighting. The Geiger counter continued to scream in her ears as she continued to type.

Then came the password.

HOPE.

"Password entered…" she hit the return key, "Now."

The computer paused, and the underscore flashed for a few seconds. Misato blinked.

More code was generated.

"Shchuka here," The pilot uttered, "…no change. I have no control over the functions and the reactor is still out of control."

"What?" Misato, exasperated, cried. She tried again but the console was not taking any commands. "The console is frozen!" She looked around for anything to smash it with.

"Impossible!" The distant voice was saying from the command center, now kilometers in the distance, "That computer terminal is the one location to override the entire system! Someone's tampered with it!"

"Then I'll have to perform a cold shut-down." Misato said, flipping through the manual, "How do you do that?"

"…You can't."

"Why not?" Misato asked as she looked through the index.

"Because it takes three people, acting in concert, to disable the dead-man's switch built into the unit."

"The pilot and I can't manage?"

"…No."

Misato blinked, then asked, "What happens if I disengage without freeing the dead man's switch?"

"…it would pretty much detonate the reactor anyway-"

"IS THERE ANY WAY TO STOP THIS THING!"

"…We've tried everything short of destroying it."

Misato released the tension in her leg and slowly slumped to the floor. The Rad counter frazzled again, but there was no suit warning to say that her suit had been breached. She sighed.

"…what are your orders, Lt. General?" Asked the Major of the NERV VTOL.

"…Get clear." Misato said, "The Evangelion can survive the blast, but you can't. If the pilot can evacuate then come and get him."

"But what about you?"

"My suit has already been heavily irradiated and you're not geared for HazMat operations." Misato said, "'Sides, It was my plan, I guess I have to pay for my foolishness."

"Lt. General," The pilot of Jet Alone said, "I will remain."

"No sense in you dying too, Lieutenant."

Silence for a moment.

"Under the circumstances, there is no point in me returning either."

"…I see."

"Misato." Said Ritsuko's distant voice.

Misato bumped her head against the back of the helmet. "I guess I should have listened to you, Ritsu."

"…Is there anything you want me to say to Kaji?"

"No…" Misato said, "Actually… no."

"Not even that you love him and all that?"

"…He already knows."

The Major reported, "Helicopters are flying clear… it's just you three. You're five kilometers outside of Atsugi. Those that have fled managed to… most of them are taking to bomb shelters and duck and cover…"

"Thank you Major."

"Godpseed Lt. General…Twelve minutes."

Misato was already feeling the heat on the outside of her suit. She looked at the red rods. "Base, any last requests while you have us?"

A moment. Then, "Lt. General, could you open access panel 3-C? It should be behind you, on the left."

Misato turned around and moved along the wall, leaning against the console and looking at the plate. She reached up and crooked her fingers into the release panels. After she pulled the plate off, the boards behind them sparked. "Gah!"

"What happened?"

"Sparks, behind the panel…"

"The boards weren't designed to handle that much radiation-"

"That's fine. Doctor Akagi," Misato heard over the radio pickup, "This is the backup for the analogue translation software for the wireless control system. This should not be on. Lt. General, examine the readout panel on the left side. Read to us lights on the third row to the left."

"…They're all dark."

"Odd. They should all be-"

Suddenly the control rods rammed back into place and the cabin lighting changed, bathing the room in green. The readout screen flickered, and then shut down.

The whole unit hunched forward. Shinji, blinking, released his hold on Jet Alone.

Misato waited for a moment, and the soft clicking of the Geiger counter had decreased dramatically. "Uh…" she uttered, "What happened?"

* * *

In under an hour the area was swarming with vehicles, from helicopters to ground recovery craft to giant cranes.

Before that, when it was assured that Jet Alone was indeed truly powered down, Shinji assisted in pulling the two people out of the robot. First was Misato, limping out of the backpack unit and into the hand of Evangelion 01. Shinji set her down on the sands where the unit had shut down, apart from everyone else because of the irradiated nature of her suit. She instructed Shinji to draw a circle in the sand and he did so with the Eva, prescribing a safe distance.

Then Shinji assisted the pilot. He watched as the hatch on the head came up- a hexagonal plate pushing forward, and emerging from it was a figure, clad from head to toe in a helmet and suit not unlike a plugsuit. He gestured to Shinji and the Evangelion's hand came closer.

The figure stepped into it without hesitation and took a seat on the palm. Shinji, blinking, didn't realize how this was unusual until he set the figure down on the ground. He had, without flinching, accepted the Evangelion's size and horrible mask. Then again that wasn't hard to believe, he WAS the pilot of Jet Alone.

In the present, Shinji's Evangelion was kneeling on the sand, and Shinji himself was seated beside the quarantine tent where Misato was being decontaminated. Doctors were eager to move in on her to treat the broken leg. Shinji wasn't…wasn't sure what to do.

"There you are," a familiar voice said and Shinji's head whirled in that direction.

Ritsuko Akagi was walking down the aisle of vehicles and hastily made tents.

Shinji leaned up and off the bench he was seated on to run to her and give her a big hug. In the first moment, Ritsuko blinked, clearly surprised and startled. But when the boy cried a little into her chest, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him. "What's the matter?"

"I-I never want to do that again!"

"What, again?"

"F-F-Fly…."

"Fly?" Ritsuko asked and heard running footsteps. She turned and saw Maya coming to a halt from having rounded a tent.

She started to blush. "D-Doctor…"

"Maya?" Ritsuko replied and Shinji's grip increased.

"Shinji! I'm SOOO Sorry! I-I didn't…"

Ritsuko sighed and asked, "What's this all about?"

Shinji parted from Ritsuko, sniffed, and said, "I-I had…" he swallowed, "I had to board the Eva… in flight… and I slipped…"

Ritsuko turned to Maya. "What did you have him do?"

Maya was flushed. "We had to load him in as quickly as possible! The Eva was loaded and ready for takeoff! We…we…." She shook her head furiously, "Shinji I'm SO Sorry!"

Ritsuko was startled to see that Maya was actually starting to tear up. She sighed. "I see. I suppose this kind of thing happens when I leave home…"

"I-I didn't know what to do a-and…" Maya covered her face.

Shinji looked away from her.

Ritsuko looked between the two of them and closed her eyes. "Well, I-"

She was interrupted by the crunching of sand. She, Shinji, and Maya looked up to see someone… no, a group of three people approaching.

Two armed guards were escorting The General.

The man strode forward, and once he was in acceptable distance to Ritsuko, spoke, "Doctor Akagi, I presume."

Ritsuko blinked. The man had spoken an impressive voice in a confident tone. She turned to face him. "Yes, I'm doctor Akagi."

The General extended a hand. "I am Marshal Anavel Kalinin."

Ritsuko took his hand and he gave her a gentle shake- not the stereotypical gruff pump-action she would have expected from a military Russian. He spoke as he released her hand, "I've been wanting to meet you for some time Doctor, your mother was my biology teacher at the University of Moscow."

"Really?" Ritsuko said, flushing a little. Not just because this impressive person was never mentioned by her mother… but… the fact…

"Indeed," The General went on, "She left quite an impression. A remarkable woman… I very much regretted her absence when she accepted the position at GEHRIN. I'm very… disappointed to hear she has passed on." He smiled a little, "However, I am honored to make your acquaintance. I see the intellectual might of the Akagi family has not diminished, Evangelions are very impressive."

Ritsuko couldn't help but blush a little further. "Why… thank you, General."

The General nodded a little. And then considered Shinji. Though he still had a slight smile on Shinji found himself taken aback by the look of the man's face… the…

"Is this your son?" The General asked.

Maya made a squeak, but Ritsuko was far more controlled. "N-No… this-s." She swallowed, "This is Shinji Ikari, son of Doctor Yui Ikari."

The General nodded a little. "I see. Congratulations young man for your performance today. Truly a landmark event in your blossoming career."

"T-Th-Thank you!" Shinji burst, nervous.

The General smiled a thin smile, though his eyes still had that predatory look.

"I-I suppose, General," Ritsuko said, "That the Jet Alone experiment is a failure."

"Yes, a shame really." The General replied, "One pinnacle of human technology at a failure. Fortunate that there were no casualties. However…" He eyed Ritsuko, "The report that the unit shut down on its own is rather… strange. Wouldn't you think? Even the circumstances of its rampancy are unusual."

Ritsuko blinked. "Yes. But as the complexity of machines increases, so does the possibility of critical failure."

"The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stuck up the drain." The General said, and smiled again, "Something your mother said once. Ah well." He turned to pace away, but hesitated. "I will be leaving shortly to return to my vessel. Perhaps the next time I am in Japan you can join me for dinner, where we can share stories about your late mother."

"….I would be honored, Marshal."

The General gave a curt nod. "Until next we meet, then." He turned and started away from the three, his guards flanking him.

The group was quiet for a moment before Maya whispered, "Who was that?"

"General Anavel Kalinin." Ritsuko replied, "A Russian General at this demonstration. Quite… an enigma."

"He knows your mother."

Ritsuko's eyebrows jumped. "Something I didn't know." She turned to look at Shinji.

The boy was lost in thought.

"Shinji?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Your mother's ordered to have the Evangelion start back for Tokyo-3 within the hour. Would you like to get some refreshments or hit the bathroom before boarding the Eva again?"

Shinji looked down at his plugsuit. "A-Actually…"

Ritsuko smiled, and then looked into the distance, "They've set up portable toilets on the far side of the complex."

Shinji nodded, and hesitated in mid-turn. He looked back. "W-Will the Lt. General be okay?"

"She'll be fine Shinji," Ritsuko said and smiled, "I'll tell her you were concerned."

Shinji nodded, smiled, and started off in search of the restroom.

Ritsuko watched him go. Maya walked up next to her, sighing and saying, "I almost got Shinji killed…"

"We haven't formulated an operational plan for this kind of situation." Ritsuko said, "As usual, our tactical officer's plan was completely improvised and outside any kind of pre-determined, rehearsed plan of operation. You could have done worse."

"….But I could have done better."

"Given the circumstances," Ritsuko said, turning her head to look in the direction of the departed General, "I wonder if it never mattered how hard we tried."

* * *

Shinji found the porta-poties. Determining they were just off the truck parked next to them (and so, empty), he hurried into one and decided to relieve his bladder as quickly as possible… before the next involuntary opportunity.

The plugsuit clung embarrassingly to his nethers when he deflated it, and was awkward to pull off in order to do his business.

As he was finishing up though, he heard something outside. Someone was marching past the porta-poties, shouting angrily. In Russian.

Shinji listened to the exchange. But there was… something… desperate in the speaker's tone as well. Finally the man sighed and ended his call, if the beep was any indication. Shinji continued to dress, finishing by pressing his suit closed.

He emerged from the porta-poty and saw Jet Alone's pilot standing there, some feet away from the booths. He turned when Shinji emerged.

Shinji hiccuped.

The man had taken off his helmet. Now that he was standing in front of Shinji, he seemed about a head taller with a proud build, wide shoulders, and an angular face. Knowing him to be Russian, Shinji was surprised to see the boy before him did not fit the stereotype.

The boy, facing Shinji now, nodded a little and looked down at the phone in his hand. "My father…" He spoke in Japanese, "Has heard the news of my failure. I am sorry if I was disturbing you."

"N-No… not at all."

The boy looked at Shinji's chest, then up at his face. "You are the Evangelion pilot, aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah," Shinji said, nodding, "S-Shinji Ikari…" He found himself extending his hand.

The boy blinked, switched the phone to the other hand and extended the other to meet Shinji's grip. He spoke, level and firm, "I am Arkady Shchuka. Stárshiy Leytenánt of the Russian Federation."

Shinji nodded out of habit, and also said out of the same habit, "Pleased to meet you."

"Mmn."

The two parted hands. Shinji looked around. "So…ah… what's going to happen to you…um…Ar…ar…"

"Arc." The Russian answered, and turned away as he said, "I am being left behind."

Shinji blinked. "W-What!"

Arc stared off in a particular direction, sighing angrily.

Shinji stepped closer to him. "You mean…b-because you screwed up?"

"My father has high expectations of me." Arc said, "And I failed. I am also a commissioned soldier. Failure elicits disciplinary action." He uttered something in Russian.

A distant droning was heard and Shinji looked up. A short, stubby helicopter with both rotor blades on top of one another was lifting off from the cluster of helicopters at the far end of the site. Shinji blinked, seeing the foreign white, blue, and red colors at the tail. The only foreign aircraft he knew were here were the Russian ones… suggesting Arc's intended ride has just left.

As the boy made a deep sigh, Shinji was moved to step closer. "U-Um,"

Arc turned, also taking a step away from Shinji to maintain the distance. Shinji continued, "Uher… I-If you don't have a place to stay or anything ma-maybe we can help…"

Arc considered the boy and then said in a clear, direct tone, "I do not wish to be under NERV jurisdiction."

"I-I don't mean NERV!" Shinji replied, "I-I mean… maybe…er…"

Arc blinked. Then asked, under his breath, "What are you getting at?"

"Uh," Shinji replied, "M-Maybe you can find a place to stay in Tokyo-3… or something."

Arc blinked, and then asked, "You're offering to help me find residence here?" He maintained the stare with Shinji, and then turned away. "I do not need your hospitality."

"O-Oh…" Shinji uttered. Then, "W-Well… where will you go?"

"…I do not know."

"Maybe we can help you find a place."

Arc turned, giving a direct stare at Shinji. Ikari couldn't help but feel a little intimated by it.

"Very well." The Russian said and turned to Shinji, "Seeing as I have no other place to go."

Shinji smiled a little.

* * *

To those who knew her, Lt. General Misato Katsuragi was a woman very energetic and full of life. Always ready to pounce into the unexplored, always ready to tackle the next threat…

…it would be quite stunning of a contrast to see her so close to death.

After the quick scrub-down of decontaminates they had quickly stripped her of the hazard suit and sent her to the medical tent. Surgery was needed to re-set the bones broken in her leg, and she lost a lot of blood and suffered internal bleeding.

Ritsuko was there to tell her, "I told you so."

"Fuck you." Misato uttered.

Ritsuko smiled, seated beside the stretcher. "The doctors say that you will live, but your leg will be in a cast for two months until it heals. They'll be giving you painkillers, and I think I heard them say something about modifying your diet to something healthier than beer and curry."

Misato made an unhappy noise.

"I took the liberty of calling your apartment," Ritsuko said, looking at her cell phone, "But Kaji wasn't there. I left a message repeating what the doctors told me, to him." Ritsuko smiled as she looked down at Misato, "Let's see how loving of a boyfriend he will be by taking care of you in your time of invalidity."

Misato grunted. Then she asked, "Where's our wonderful Scientific Director?"

Ritsuko sighed as she leaned up in the seat. "Doctor Ikari flew back to NERV hours ago, after Jet-Alone was shut down and giving me orders to have Shinji return with Evangelion 01 to Tokyo-3."

Misato blinked. "She didn't even say boo to Shinji?"

"…no."

* * *

"Recovery procedures are already under way. We expect Evangelion 01 to be back in Tokyo-3 and secure within two hours."

"Very good." The gravely voice on the other end of the line replied, "Everything went in accordance to the plan?"

"…Not exactly."

"Oh?"

Yui Ikari continued from the passenger seat of the VTOL, "The failure was implemented as expected… but the program was much more catastrophically functional than planned. Even Katusragi's tampering would have overcome what we had in motion."

"…Then their software was much more unstable than we were lead to believe."

"Possibly."

* * *

"Our analysis concludes that someone utilized the phased receiver array built into the unit for remote guidance, hijacked it, and then used the redundant translation software to key in a new program. This… thing was designed to block all exterior commands and shut down whatever terminal input a successful command. This pushback virus was categorized as Sponge-47. We never thought it could be implemented into the Jet Alone software and work so…well…"

"And the reason for the robot's termination?"

"Apparently the program was deliberately designed to bring the unit to count-down, ending eleven minutes and an odd number of seconds before the critical threshold was reached."

"Then, in your opinion director, this demonstration was deliberately sabotaged to ruin the name of JCHI?"

"…Yes." The Director for Jet Alone said.

The man holding the papers nodded, and then gestured to one of his assistants. A lighter was passed, and the man burned the report. "And so the project must die also. Take him and put him with the rest."

"What?" The Director uttered before being manhandled and put away.

The man holding the papers watched them burn, and opened a porthole. When they were sufficiently scuffed out, he tossed them out the window. They blew to the pacific winds, never to be seen again, and dissolved in the water.

The man closed the window and started for the bridge.

The Battlecruiser _Kirov _was several miles offshore from Japan already, hours later. In the distance was the shape of the freighter _Ebba Mærsk._

Marshal Anavel Kalinin stepped up into the bridge. Plenty of people saluted. He took off his cap as he walked into the bridge and gestured for some binoculars. "Captain?" He said absently, stepping up to the windows, "I think now is a good time for military exercises."

"…Understood Sir."

The battle klaxons shrilled in the air, unheard by anyone miles away in Japan. As the sailors on the Russian Battlecruiser began the preparations to arm the missiles, the Marshal uttered, "The price for failure is unacceptable. Sink it."

An SS-N-45 missile yet to be identified by the west arced out of the forward missile launchers of the Russian warship. The sonic boom came seconds later.

"Is Akula tracking the target?"

"Yes Marshall."

"Good." Kalinin said and watched the fireworks of the fifteen hundred thousand ton bulk freighter exploding from a supersonic missile impact.


	15. Breach

XV

Breach

The Cages were very busy.

Though no radiological hazard had been detected on Evangelion 01, foreign exposure procedures nevertheless had to be followed. The Evangelion was to be cleaned. So after Shinji docked the unit and left it, he heard the rushing of water and wanted to see it for himself.

Ritsuko joined him at the operations booth overlooking the Evangelion. The two of them watched the torrential cascade of specialized cleaning chemicals spray the Evangelion over from head to toe.

"Shinji," Ritsuko said, "I just glanced at the full report for today's episode. You did good, at least, according to NERV."

"…The Lt. General got hurt."

"But she isn't dead," Ritsuko replied, "And in part it's her own fault for adopting such a reckless plan."

Shinji sighed. Then, he said, "You know… I never thought things would be like this over a week ago."

"That's right," Ritsuko replied, "Yesterday, wasn't it? Your first day here?"

"I think so…." Shinji said. He looked at the head of the Evangelion, "A-At first I was afraid of this thing… but…"

"…But?"

Shinji turned. "Doctor, what is this thing? I-I always assumed it was just a giant robot…"

Ritsuko cocked an eyebrow. "The full answer is long, complicated, and with plenty of classified parts."

"It isn't… isn't totally a robot, is it?"

"In a way, correct. It is partially cybernetic."

"T-That means… it's alive."

"In a manner of speaking." Ritsuko replied, looking at Evangelion 01, "Part of the major components we would consider 'alive' were bio-engineered here. Evangelion 02 was replicated using processes pioneered here. The same thing is going on in the United States."

"So… you…" Shinji said, "Grew the Evangelions?"

"We grew parts of them." Ritsuko replied, smirking, "Fortunately the means of creating entirely all-new life is still only possible the old fashioned way."

Shinji blinked.

Ritsuko sighed, "Shinji, you're free for the day. I can handle the paperwork we would ordinarily assign you."

Shinji swallowed, never imagining he would have homework from his _job_. "I-Is it a lot?"

Ritsuko smiled. "It has many big words and complex terminology."

"O-Ohkay…um…"

Ritsuko blinked. "Shinji?"

"H-How often are these plugsuits…umm….washed?"

Ritsuko smiled. "If the pilots were ever engaged in a test within a 12 hour cycle, they are removed from the lockers by the janitorial staff and taken to cleaning. You have three spare suits tailored for you." She blinked, "Why do you ask?"

"U-Um…" Shinji's face started to color.

Ritsuko smiled. "I think I can guess. Go ahead and go change."

Shinji nodded and hurried off. He was completely unaware that, through the door into the other observation cage facing unit 02, Kyoko Zeppelin had seen him retreat. A dark look crossed the doctor's face, but she didn't rush in to challenge Akagi for her victory this morning.

She had something else on her mind.

* * *

The recovery ward was occupied by someone else today. Someone else also came to visit it. But unlike the last time someone brought gifts in for a recovering patient, they were not shooed out and the gifts destroyed. Instead, they were put into a flower pot, and the box of chocolates laid on the small table.

Misato scoffed at Kaji's grin. "Took you long enough."

"NERV has long, complex chains of security one has to pass, one link at a time." Kaji replied.

Misato blinked, looking at him as she lay flat on the bed. "Is that some kind of excuse to cover for the fact that you came late and needed time to find me a get-well gift?"

"Yes, actually." Kaji replied as he sat in the chair in reverse, leaning on the backboard as he faced her. "I hope you can forgive me."

Misato looked away and sighed, "I really screwed up this time."

"A reckless charge to save the day when it turns out it wasn't needed in the first place?"

"I'm always doing this."

"Saving the day, or charging recklessly?"

Misato sighed.

Kaji stared at his girlfriend.

"So I heard the Russian pilot guy got left behind." Misato said.

"As far as I know, that is correct." Kaji replied, shifting his rest on the chair, "The news is already buzzing with the scandal. They claim nobody was injured, and JCHI is saying that efforts to shut it down were successful at the 11th hour."

"No mention of NERV?"

"Only to the minor mention of 'rendering technical assistance'."

"Jerks." Misato grunted, "I hope their project falls flat on its face."

"More like sunk in this case. Their carrier ship has reportedly disappeared about two hours after it got underway. They failed to check in after entering territorial waters and a search by radar is turning up nothing."

"…what?"

Kaji shrugged. "That's what I hear around here anyway. Popular thought is that the Russians decided to bury the evidence of their involvement in the whole thing."

Misato blinked as she stared at the ceiling. "I suppose the Russians aren't a very cheery lot."

"Not when they're still a problem spot for the United Nations."

Misato sighed, and then asked, "I suppose this pilot is on the Section two watch list?"

"Likely." Kaji replied, "NERV is very touchy about people who might be spies."

Just then the door opened. Kaji turned his head and smiled.

Kyoko Zeppelin walked in with a clipboard. She hesitated. "Mr. Ryoji, your presence is not required here."

"Oh yes it is." Kaji said and adjusted his chair, "My sunny personality and cheery disposition are conductive to healing."

Misato rolled her eyes skyward as best as she could.

Kyoko's stare was a deadpan one.

Kaji shrugged, then asked, "I suppose you want me to leave because you're about to discuss something classified?"

"Precisely."

"Ah. I see. Well then," Kaji got up from the chair, leaned over to Misato and gave her a kiss. For all her grumbling, Misato smiled a little as Kaji pulled away. He winked at her and strode for the door, making a warm smile in Kyoko's direction but the redhead said nothing.

Kaji left with a wave and closed the door behind him.

Misato gathered her breath, and her courage, as Kyoko Zepplin rounded the bed to take the seat Kaji had vacated. "Lt. General," She said as she spun the chair, "I've come to inquire about your decisions this afternoon in the action against Jet Alone."

Misato swallowed. "I'm really tired Doctor…"

Kyoko ignored her as she sat in the plastic chair. "I want to know why Evangelion unit two was not used instead."

Misato sighed. "Kyoko, I'm not going to take sides with this."

Kyoko didn't say anything.

Misato stared at her. "Did you hear me?"

"I understand." Kyoko replied, and then, "Why was Evangelion unit two not used?"

Misato sighed, not willing to wage a fight over this. Let someone else deal with it, "Because I was told by Doctor Akagi that Evangelion unit two was on stand-down because of extended operations and the pilot was exhausted. I figured she deserved the rest, and it wasn't a combat-intensive operation. The Prototype is still under repair from the battle with the last Angel."

"So you felt better in sending an incompetent novice into battle, and in doing so resulted in your leg being broken."

Misato turned her head. "Doctor, I am not biased. If anything I sent Shinji because this kind of action is _beneath_ Asuka's ability as an experienced combat pilot…" She added under her breath, "If you can say such a thing about teenagers…"

"The Second Child is the best of the pilots." Kyoko replied, "No task is beneath her."

Misato sighed again, "Doctor, what do you want me to tell you? I chose Shinji because Ritsu told me Asuka and her Eva were overstressed and overworked. Frankly this little shitstorm you're raising over it is not helping matters."

"…So not only are you taking inappropriate advice from someone acting outside their department, but you're also biased towards Doctor Akagi's opinions."

Misato turned her head. "What are you going to do, have me fired?"

"Possibly."

Misato turned her head to look back up at the ceiling. "I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"In the next operation," Kyoko uttered, "You will deploy Evangelion 02 into battle without the interruption of the prototype or that short-term neophyte."

Misato winced. "I am going to do as my judgement as NERV's Tactical Operations director tells me to." She closed her eyes, "If you don't like it, file a complaint."

"I will end your career for this." Kyoko hissed.

Misato's head turned sharply on the pillow. "Just try it! I'd like to see you argue semantics over performance with the Ikaris!"

"If you do not have Eva unit Two in the next sortie I'll-!"

"How Dare You!" Misato sat up suddenly, her face getting red, "For all the hands-off bullshit you're flinging at Ritsu for meddling in your operations, you're quite the hypocrite telling me how to do my job! If _anyone_ is taking a risk being fired, it's YOU! Now GET out of here and LET ME SLEEP!"

The slap was hard enough on Misato's face that she actually flew a little, landing on the far side of the bed. The next sound was the hard clapping of Kyoko's high-heels on the floor tile. Then the door, being wrenched open.

But there was no sound as Kyoko looked to see Kaji leaning against the doorframe. "Sorry," He uttered to Kyoko's stunned face, "I forgot my watch."

The blond slammed the door closed and stormed off. Kaji waited for her to leave, and then opened the door gently to attend to his girlfriend.

Only a hint of his laid-back attitude was on his face as he approached his girlfriend on the bed. Misato, glancing up to see him, said to Kaji quietly as he approached, "What the hell is she doing?"

Kaji took the hand that Misato was pressing to her cheek, first to look at the bruise and then to rub the hand. "One cannot understand the reason in the mind of a dragon lady."

"You think that's what it is?" Misato asked, then sighed a little, "I mean there's maternal drives for a child to succeed… but this is ridiculous. How the anyone can stand her is beyond me." She winced, and looked up at Kaji, "How the hell did she even con anyone into _marrying_ her in the firstplace?"

* * *

Shinji didn't really like the idea of getting back into clothes he was wearing for the past few days straight, but the alternative was to go starkers. He told himself he'd try to remember to bring an extra change of clothes to stash in the locker in case something like this happened.

So as he emerged in the same black pants, same blue undershirt, same white shirt and same sweater he had been wearing since last week, he muttered about how well he'd fit in a cartoon when he saw two people waiting outside the locker rooms.

It was Maya, and Aoba.

"Shinji!" Maya began, "E-Er… I hope we're not bothering you?"

"Huh? No, not at all."

Maya stepped forward, blushing a little as she said, "I-I wanted to ap-apologize again for making you walk out like that…"

Shinji blinked. "Well…er… I had to do it?"

Maya swallowed. "I-I know but… I wanted to apologize again…"

Aoba's arms were crossed. "Don't worry about it too much Shinji, she wants to get it off her chest. She's been talking about it ever since she got off." Maya shot Aoba a look of betrayal, but he just maintained a smile and shrugged. Then he looked to Shinji, "Anyway, she wants to make it up to you, which means we'll be driving you back to your place if that's ok."

Shinji blinked again. "I… I don't want to impose… or anything."

Aoba smiled. "Shinji, we're asking you. You're not imposing."

Shinji blinked as he recalled the other time he heard those words.

"Besides," Aoba clapped a hand on Maya's shoulder, "You'll be making Maya feel better. She wanted to take you out to dinner too, but I talked her out of it."

Shinji blinked. "Er…thanks?"

"For talking her out of dinner?"

"Aoba!" She hit him on the shoulder.

"Er…the ride."

"Ah. No problem."

* * *

When it came to That Tone, Asuka always woke up immediately. No matter what she was doing, or how deeply she was asleep.

In a stupor she threw off the covers of her bed and was exposed to the cold air, swinging a hand out without seeing to grab the phone from its place on the end-table by her bed. She flipped the phone open and answered in German, "Moma?"

"Asuka," Her mother's voice toned, "You'll be moving back in with me tonight. Start packing your things."

Not only did that wake Asuka up fully, but icicles stabbed into her innards. "Wh-What?"

"You heard me." Kyoko's voice replied, "I just learned how 'fatigued' and 'overworked' you are. We're going to fix that problem by moving you back on-base so I can keep an eye on you."

"B-But we had an agreement-!"

"DON'T BACK TALK ME!"

Asuka blinked, stunned into silence.

"It's for your own good." Kyoko replied, "Besides, with the Ikari's spoiled amateur out on the loose now, I want to make sure he doesn't distract you from what you should be doing."

"Momma… please…"

"I WILL be there in an hour. Be ready by then."

Click.

Bubbles of… misery… started up Asuka's esophagus. On the bed she couldn't help the sadness cascading up her spine and into her head, spilling out her eyes. She tried to hold it in, both with her jaws and with her left hand as the right held the phone. But as the light from the dying day played through the window outside, and the pressure of this new, descending deadline on her life…

It was all her Mother's fault.

Asuka Soyru Langly threw the phone so hard it cracked the LCD screen as it crashed against the concrete wall.

Now she cracked the phone! Her mother would…be…

Asuka got up, hurrying to the dresser drawer and throwing it open. She found pants, socks, a shirt and a sweater with a hood.

The control nodes for her Evangelion moved out of place as she put her sweater on. Rather than set them back on her head, she ripped them out and threw them somewhere in her room.

Putting on her shoes, she hurried out the door- snapping the locking mechanism behind her out of habit and running as fast as she could down the stairs.

She didn't care where she was going.

She only wanted to put as much distance between herself and this place as possible.

…Her damaged phone did not go with her.

* * *

"Shinji?"

"H-Hi Hikari! I…er… I just ahm… got off…."

Hikari's giggle made Shinji blush a little. Aoba grinned a little as he put the words into a different context. Maya noticed, and pinched him. "Aie!"

Shinji didn't see the banter though, since Hikari was talking, "There was something on the news about a rampaging robot. Were you there?"

"Er…yeah, kinda. We had to stop it."

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah… I-I can tell you about it later…uhm… at least, as much as I think I can."

Hikari giggled again. "You didn't have to sign any secrecy documents did you, mister Ikari?"

Shinij wasn't actually sure what was in that light green booklet Dr. Zeppelin had handed to him over a week ago. Maybe it was time to read it. Now that he was headed back to his apartment…. He cleared his throat, "Er… I dunno."

"That's all right," Hikari answered, her grin evident in her tone, "I'm sure you did your best, and we're all safe again because of you."

Shinji felt warm.

"So! You called?"

"Ah! Yeah um… sorry for just leaving you like that-"

"I bought the clothes we picked out."

"Y-You did? Y-You didn't have to…"

"Don't be silly! You wanted them, and how many changes of clothes do you actually have?"

Shinji actually wasn't sure. How much was salvaged from his destroyed possessions? "I…er…."

"Point proven."

"Yeah…eh… I need to make it up to you."

"Yes, you do!" Hikari replied, "So, how about tomorrow you surprise me."

"S-S-Surprise you?"

"Yeah! Think of something fun for us to do."

"Y-You mean like a Date?"

Shinji found himself blushing, and from the silence at the other end, he guessed she was too. Before fear could fully stab into his heart at trying to interpret her silence, Shinji heard her say, "Y-Yeah… I guess… it would be a date wouldn't it?"

Suddenly Rei's face popped in Shinji's head. Oddly enough, it was with a deadpan expression as well.

"Oh!" Hikari said, "Unless, Rei wants to be there…um…"

Shinji laughed again, nervously.

"Wow…" Hikari replied from the other end.

"W-Well…um… Yeah! I-I'll try to think of something." Shinji said.

"Great! Maybe we can stop by my place too and you can get your clothes. Just don't expect to spend the night again!"

"I-I Won't! Honest!"

Hikari giggled. "Alright Mister Ikari, I'll see you tomorrow."

The way Hikari said it, as a kind of a sigh, made Shinji feel warm down to his toes. So warm, in fact, that his farewell didn't come out quite right. "I-I'llerm… ahh…er…."

Hikari giggled.

"S-S-See you T-Tomorrow…ugh."

Hikari giggled again. "Night sweetie."

Shinji blinked. "Er…night."

She hung up. Shinji slowly lowered his phone.

From the front seat, Maya was all smiles. "Aww! Shinji I didn't know you could be so cute!"

The kid in the back started to blush. Aoba saw it in the rear-view mirror. "Hey," He said with an idea, "Maya, are you off tomorrow?"

"Er…why?"

"Ikari? How about a double-date?"

"H-Hurh!" Shinji asked.

Aoba smiled. "Well, barring an Angel attack I've got a few sick days saved up. I don't think the subcommander would bite either of our heads off if we decided to use one."

Maya sighed. "Kyoko might."

"Eh," Aoba waved off, "Screw her. She isn't on my healthcare plan."

Maya turned her head. "You're not on the NERV plan?"

"No."

"Why not! It has free dental and vision!"

"…Are you saying my smile isn't good enough for you?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Um…"

Aoba's car pulled up to the sidewalk beside Shinji's apartment. They had to park at a distance though, since the sidewalk was far from empty.

Black vans and police cars were parked there. The three of them could see men in black encircling the area like lone trees at the edge of a forest. It was kind of creepy when most of them, as one, turned to look at the new arrival.

Maya almost gasped it out, "S-Section two! What are they doing here?"

Shinji blinked.

One of the men in black approached the car. None of the three moved as he walked closer. "Sir," The man said, "Can I please have the names and identifications of all the persons in your vehicle?"

"Uh…sure." Aoba said and fished out his wallet, "First Lieutenants Shigeru Aoba and Maya Ibuki. The kid in the back is Shinji Ikari…er… pilot of unit 01."

At Shinji's name the Man in black turned his head to look at Shinji directly. The boy paled. "I see. Wait here." The man in black said.

As he walked away, Maya reached for her purse. "I've got a bad feeling about this… I'm gonna call Doctor Akagi."

"What's the MiB doing here?' Aoba asked, then looked back at Shinji, "Ikari, you're not like… hiding bombs in your apartment are you?"

"No I…" Shinji blinked, and then gasped slowly, "Asuka…"

"Huh?" Both adults in the front seat asked.

"S-She…" Shinji said, swallowed, and tried again, "She lives in this apartment complex too…"

"You think something happened to her?" Aoba asked as Maya had the phone to her ear.

Shinji, blinking, unbelted himself and opened the door to step outside.

Maya had a hold of Ritsuko. "D-Doctor Akagi? It's Maya… we're in front of Shinji's apartment and it looks like Section Two is deployed out here with a bunch of police…"

Shinji stepped away from the car slowly but stopped by the front tire of the BMW. He looked up at the rows of apartments and could see the doorway of Asuka's open, and two MiB guards were on either side.

Then Kyoko emerged.

Her eyes immediately saw Shinji and she started her descent, saying something to the MiB guards as she made her way down. Shinji swallowed and balled his fists. This woman had been harrowing him almost ever since he got here. She assaulted him and hurt him.

…But something allowed him to stand there and wait for her to come to him. True, his confidence would probably fold like a house of cards, but even as he realized this Shinji somehow felt… ready. At least, ready to try.

Kyoko Zeppelin's strides were long and wide. "All right you little snot," Kyoko snarled, "I've had about as much as I can take out of you interfering with my daughter. WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"

"I-I Don't know."

Kyoko stepped forward, making Shinji recoil a little as he anticipated her grabbing his collar. "Don't you Fucking Lie to me Boy!"

"Hey!" Aoba protested, getting out of the car, "Leave him alone!"

"Stay out of this, peon!" Kyoko snarled, and her head whirled to Shinji, "What did you say to my daughter!"

"I-I don't even know where she is!" Shinji replied.

"You lie!" Kyoko roared, reaching out with a claw for Shinji's collar.

Shinji whipped his arm, batting her hand out of the way. Her fingernails grazed past Shinji's cheek and he could feel the fire of skin being taken off.

This only angered the blond woman, who grabbed with the other arm.

"Stop it!" Maya screamed, having stepped out of the car.

The MiB agents were clustering now, and even on their composed faces there was a little confusion on their looks as they wondered _why_ this woman was manhandling a minor.

Kyoko's stare turned to Maya. "Akagi's little servant wench eh? Tell your fucking queen to stay the hell out of my affairs!"

"I-I have Commander Ikari on the phone!" Maya replied, screwing her face so that her eyes bulged and her lips were pressed into a line.

That made Kyoko hesitate. "Give me the phone."

Maya did not pause, thrusting out her phone to the woman. Kyoko snatched it and brought it to her ear. "Commander?"

Shinji blinked as he slowly wiped the blood off his cheek. It was opposite to Touji's bruise, which was starting to hurt again.

"The second child is missing. I came to collect her fifteen minutes ago and her apartment was locked, and she was absent." Kyoko turned away from Shinji and Maya, "I have reason to suspect that the Third Children might have influenced her to go AWOL."

Shinji blinked. Asuka had… run away? Then again… Shinji had done the exact same thing only days ago. Now he could see why Dr. Zeppelin was so accusatory.

"Commander," Kyoko began again, "I have a personal investment in the second child. I demand the right to remain in the search! You can't…" She stiffened. "I see. Very well, I will abide by your orders."

She snapped the phone closed, turned, and handed it to Maya. The technician took it and folded it close to her chest.

Kyoko glared daggers down at Shinji. "Child," She said, "Your parents might be able to protect you, but God help you if you get injured."

"You're not going to kill Shinji!" Maya piped up.

Kyoko had been walking away, but turned at Maya's quip. "It's adorable that you're turning into a miniature Akgai, Lieutenant, but I don't think she's really into you." Her gaze turned to Shinji, "She seems to have a thing for…younger men."

Aoba stepped forward but Kyoko was already walking back to her car. The three of them watched her drive off.

Maya immediately descended into a fit of unintelligible anger. Aoba had to put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

Shinji's innards felt heavy. This was supposed to be a happy return to his own home, fresh from a conversation with a girl he liked.

Now?

Now he was wondering where Asuka was, and wondering if she was safe.

…And… how to assure her safety.

* * *

Asuka Langley had been riding the busses for nearly an hour now. The sun was low on the horizon when she finally decided to step off. Looking at the NERV bus pass in her fingers, she briefly considered throwing it away somewhere before she decided to pocket it instead. She might have a use for it later.

She didn't know where she was, only that it was somewhere in the north part of the city as lake Ashinoko was behind her and in the distance, beyond the high-rise structures. It must have been in the older part of the city given the architecture and lack of higher buildings.

Her stomach tugged at her, reminding her that she hadn't had dinner… or anything to eat really… since running away. Looking down the street, she saw the faces of the buildings end and a car pull into a driveway beyond them. She headed for it.

Her hunch was correct and it turned out to be a supermarket. She crossed the parking lot and entered through the sliding glass doors.

She immediately made her way to the snacks and drinks. She started to look over them, drying to determine what her appetite wanted, and paused at the instant coffee.

She turned away with a sigh, remembering Shinji's concerns. She also walked by the refrigerated section, ignoring the milk jugs, and moving on to the soft drinks. It had been a while since she had one of these, and decided to take her time deciding.

Others were moving about in the shopping center, though, and they were talking.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I dunno… and I guess I don't really care either."

"Touji, you gotta apologize or something! The class rep was ready to rip your head off!"

"…I don't care about that anymore either."

One of the boys sighed. "Touji, I know life sucks and all but you're not gonna make it better by beating the shit out of people when they rub you the wrong way."

"You're rubbing me wrong and I'm not beating you up."

"Geh! You know what I mean! He's new to the city and you just F'ed him up!"

Asuka wondered who they were talking about. She turned her head as the two boys rounded the corner of the market aisle. The one leading was dressed in a black jock uniform, with a frown on his face and dark hair cut short. The guy behind him had brown hair, glasses, and was wearing a jacket. Asuka's gaze didn't linger and she went on looking at product as they continued the discussion.

Though… she gulped when the jock said, "He's a NERV freak. They all deserve to get fucked up, new or not. 'Fact the sooner, the better. 'Scuse me."

Touji reached past Asuka and took a soda bottle of some brand off the shelf. Asuka didn't move, and the kid continued on. So did his friend.

"If anyone from NERV overheard you saying that they'd get those men in black on you so fast-"

"So? I don't care."

"Touji!"

Asuka made an effort to leave the area discreetly, grabbing a bottle of something and rounding the corner the boys just came from. Fortunately it was for snacks, which she wanted to shop for next.

"NERV doesn't play nice! My dad works for the place, you wouldn't BELIEVE some of the things they do there! If they find out you're rough-housing the pilots, they'll come down on you like a ton of bricks!"

"Then I can give them a piece of my mind."

"…You serious? You mean you WANT them to boot you out of the city or something!"

"Sure. It'll get me out of this goddamned place. Id' be gone if Dad wasn't the only one I got."

Asuka sighed a little and looked over the rows of chips as she tried to tune out the conversation. She didn't have long before her attention was diverted, "Excuse me," a boy said on her right, "Could you help translate something for me?"

She turned her head. A tall boy, broad-shouldered, and with an angular face and striking eyes was standing there, holding a case of bottled drinks. He defiantly wasn't Asian.

"Er… sure," She said.

"I want to know what these are."

Asuka looked at them, and then at him. "Bottled tea… you mean you can't read what that says?"

The boy glanced down at the bottles in his hand, sighed, and said, "My understanding of Kanji is very…select. There is no call for it where I come from."

"How are you expected to be in Japan without knowing the language? Or are you a tourist?"

"An unwilling one if that is the case. Thank you." The boy said, giving a bow and turning away.

Asuka blinked, but decided to follow the boy around the corner. "What's that supposed to mean? Did you miss your flight or something?"

"If you must know," The boy said, "I was left behind. My countrymen went home without me and I am forbidden to go home."

"Why?"

"…Because I failed."

Blinking, Asuka said in a low tone, "I know what… you mean."

* * *

Dinner at the Ikari residence was quiet, as always.

Though Gendo Ikari was in for a surprise as he sat at the table. Along with the western meal, Apple slices with a small bowl of peanut butter were set on the table within reach of Gendo and his wife.

"Did you make this?" He had asked at the beginning of dinner.

Yui said from over her tablet, "Rei insisted on cooking this evening, so I let her."

"…I see."

Gendo had little preference or taste for his meal, though the selection of a western one was strange. Still, the fact that Rei had _insisted_ on cooking was rather unusual. He glanced at the girl.

She was seated on the third side of the table to Gendo's left and Yui's right, eating her meal quietly. She had already consumed her pills, and rarely looked up. Were it not for Yui's commentary, he couldn't see anything wrong with the girl.

"I had an interesting call today." Gendo said.

"Oh?"

"From Doctor Akagi."

Yui didn't look up from her dinner, "I suppose this has something to do with that ever-evolving feud between the two doctors?"

"Apparently Doctor Zeppelin was responsible for deploying four entire squads of city police and half of section two earlier today."

Yui stopped eating. "Where did she get the authorization?"

"It was never asked. The second child has gone missing and apparently that was justification enough for Doctor Zeppelin to declare an emergency."

"I see."

"Doctor Akagi also felt Shinji was in danger and decided to notify me."

"Her concern for the children is commendable," Yui said, "Even if it is not her responsibility."

Gendo blinked, but decided not to raise a point he was considering. Instead, he offered, "I believe we may have to consider our options regarding Doctor Zeppelin. If she proves to be a hindrance to operations, we may want to consider re-assigning her."

"As operations manager of base affairs," Yui said, "That is, of course, your decision."

"And she is one of your department leaders."

Yui looked at her husband. "I do not disagree with your assessment, but it may be difficult to find a replacement. Even if someone as qualified could be found, where would she be assigned? Or do you plan on terminating her?"

"I don't think that will be necessary. I know where she might have a use."

Yui blinked, then understand what her husband was suggesting. "I see. It will require input from the Committee, however."

"That will not be difficult."

"Very well." Yui replied and started eating again. Then she turned to Rei. "Rei, before you turn in tonight I have a few questions for you regarding the V-table."

"Yes."

"And I want you to secure your IV tonight with two strips of tape. Before I left this morning I found it had come out while you were asleep."

"My apologies."

"No need, just be sure to keep it connected."

Gendo spooned another mouthful of the seven seas casserole into his mouth. It wasn't that bad.

* * *

"Russia?" Asuka asked.

The boy nodded. "My family has lived there as far back as we can remember. There's a family tree somewhere in our house, but I've never studied it. My father might know more about our history… it's important to him."

"But not to you?"

They were standing in the grocery store line, having picked up the things they needed. He let her stand ahead of him.

"…presently, I am trying to escape my history." The boy said, "My father and I are not on the best of terms. Because of my failure he is punishing me by not allowing me to return home."

"Do you miss it?"

The boy sighed, "It's more a matter of not wanting to be confined to one place. I feel… like I don't…" he shook his head.

"Fit in?"

He looked to her. "yes, exactly."

"I kind of know what that's like when I first came here… and recently."

"Where are you from?" He asked her.

"Germany." Asuka replied, "My father's from there. He met my mother in Japan and not too long after they had me when they moved back."

"I was in Germany not too long ago." The boy replied, "Perhaps in past year, mostly in the south. Pretty castles."

"I was mostly in the city. Berlin." Asuka nodded, "Wherever my parents would go for their research."

"What do they do?"

Asuka was about to respond when a third voice interrupted, "Hey! Where did you get that patch!"

The boy whirled, as did Asuka. She started to pale as she saw the jock and his nerdy friend slip into line behind them. Kensuke was staring at the man's jacket, exclaiming, "That's the patch of the Russian 20th army! You're even wearing one of the field jackets! How did you get it!"

"Don't mind him." Touji said, thumbing to Kensuke, "He's a military nerd."

"That's obvious." The boy replied, and then answered the hungry face of the military Otaku, "A gift from a family friend in the 20th. I am from Russia."

"Right on! Hey, did you hear anything about Jet Alone? People are saying the Russians were involved!"

"What do you know of that?"

"Eh, just bits." Kensuke grunted, "The news is putting out the typical bullcrap as usual, saying JCHI got it under control and stuff, but," Kensuke's grin was conspiratorial, "WE know that the Russians were there! And NERV deployed an Evangelion to stop the rampaging robot!"

Asuka blinked and her jaw worked. Eva deployment? Why wasn't she notified? What…

Wait.

"So… that's…" She uttered softly as she looked into space.

"Hey," Touji said to her, "You okay?"

Asuka blinked, wide-eyed and panicked that she was being addressed by…well… someone who savagely beat up NERV pilots.

"Fine!" She replied.

"Upset," The boy replied, looking down at her, "We're both in trouble for mistakes we've made."

"Parents?" Kensuke asked.

"Yes."

"Ah," Kensuke waved, "You're better off without 'em. Whenever my dad gets pissed I just take off and go urbexing."

"Urbexing?"

"Urban Exploring." Touji replied, "Means he climbs around ruins looking for stuff."

"And it's very COOL!" Kensuke replied, "Just the other night, Shinji and I-"

"Shinji?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah," Kensuke replied over Touji's grunt of disgust, "Classmate. He and I checked out the old Artificial Evolution Labs building. Some pretty cool stuff in there!"

The boy blinked. "The Evolutionary lab building is still standing?"

"Er, yeah," Kensuke said, looking at the Russian.

He nodded. "I remember hearing something from my father about the Hakone Evolutionary Labs. " He looked around, "It didn't occur to me that Tokyo-3 was constructed over Hakone." He looked to Kensuke and nodded, "I've actually done some of that 'urbexing' myself."

"Really?"

"You cannot imagine all the left over abandoned soviet-era equipment littering Russia." The boy said, "And some of the things I've seen."

"I'LL BET! Hey," Kensuke said, "I was gonna go check out some abandoned stuff by the waterfront tomorrow. You in town?"

"I have no choice."

"Er… okay. You up to coming?"

The Russian blinked. "An interesting offer."

"Hey, I can give you my number!"

"… An acceptable proposal."

"All right!" Kensuke said and fumbled for his phone, "Maybe we can even hit it tonight!"

The Russian looked at Asuka.

"He drags me along sometimes too." Touji said, "Better than just hanging out around at home. 'Specially nowadays."

"You can come too!" Kensuke said eagerly to her, then to the Russian, "Never had girls come before!"

Asuka blinked, and looked at the Russian. He only shrugged.

She hesitated before finally asking him, "I never got your name…."

"Arkadey," He replied, and then pointed past her. Asuka was next in line.


	16. Fossils

Dundracon, The week before The Game Developer's Conference 2011 to make a resume, the GDC itself, and then one week of a terrible cold was the cause for delay.

Wreckage continues.

* * *

XVI

Fossils

A breeze was blowing through the northern part of Tokyo-3. Asuka's ears were starting to hurt from the cold, so she drew her hood up and tightened the strings. Only her face showed through the mass of grey.

She, Kensuke, Touji, and Arc were headed to Arc's apartment to drop off the groceries he had bought. He was sipping at one of the soft drinks with his left hand while the right held three grocery bags.

"Anyway," Kensuke was saying, "My dad's starting to get on my case again about my grades. After he went downstairs to do…something, I just climbed out the window, down the tree, then hopped the fence and took off!"

Touji was shaking his head. "What kind of man are you? You didn't man up and take it back to him?"

"Uh, no, because he's wrong! My grades are my business!"

Asuka bowed her head. "I wish I had the resolve to do something like that."

"What," Touji asked, "Your folks give you hell for your homework too?"

"Literally."

"Well, here you are! Running away from it all!" Kensuke said, half a cheer.

Asuka swallowed. "I'll have to face it eventually…."

"Why?" Kensuke said, "It's your life. Why do they care?"

Asuka bobbed her head. "My mom… she…"

"Woa!" Kensuke interrupted as a van drove by. Kensuke pointed to it. "That's a section two car!"

"Section what?" Arc asked, turning with the rest to look at the van now departing around a corner. Asuka started to pale again.

"Yeah," Kensuke said, "Top secret security agent guys from NERV. They keep an eye out for spies and security issues."

Touji looked at his friend. "How do you KNOW this stuff?"

"Connections." Kensuke replied, pushing his glasses up his face.

Arc winced. "That's the third time I've seen that van today."

The other three looked at him. Touji, wincing, uttered, "You're not some kind of spy are you?"

"Idiot!" Kensuke barked, "You think he'd tell you if he was?"

"I'm a foreigner. That's enough of a reason." Arc said as he started walking again.

Asuka pulled the draw stings of her hood closer.

* * *

Shinji Ikari was…home.

For the first time in close to a week he had returned to his apartment. He hadn't been back here since before the angel attack.

As he entered he discovered his things were still here. There was some dried water or something by the door, but he guessed the hazard teams must have swept the apartment and found it unaffected by whatever that… that angel blood was. He closed the door and clicked on the lights.

This was the thing he had wanted so much. Independence. The chance to have control over his accommodations and his life.

…And the trade had been Asuka's wellbeing.

He slumped down on the bed. The comforter had been shifted aside and the pillows overturned, but otherwise things weren't misplaced. He put them back with one hand and then collapsed on the bed.

He would have to change. He had bought some other clothes in his earlier shopping trips, and he did in fact feel soiled, but he didn't feel much like moving at the moment.

Shinji was trying to figure out what to do.

Unable to decide after a moment of lying there, he forced himself up. He pulled off his sweater and at least started to change. That effort turned into the idea to take a shower, and in a moment he was letting the warm water course over him as he thought about what to do.

He didn't have Asuka's number. He didn't even know where to begin.

Disappointed, he left the shower dressed in a new ensemble. His stomach dictated what he did next, and he started to take stock of what he had. Without a cooking pot he decided to make do with the oven and pulled out one of the two instant meals for cases like this. Checking the time on the frozen pizza, he adjusted the oven, stuck it in, and then sighed. He'd be waiting for about a half-hour before it was ready.

He looked around the room again. He had been so eager to be back here, and now that he had returned, what could he do? He spied his backpack- the constant companion for the past week- but didn't feel like doing homework. He started back for the bed when a snippet of Hikari's conversation came back to him.

…The instruction booklet!

The little pamphlet of NERV rules and regulations he had been given on the first day was put on the counter in a prominent place. Shinji had recognized it was important, but the complex legal jargon had encouraged him to skip it all. Now it was time for a detailed study to find some answers to questions about what it meant to be a pilot.

He lay back in the bed, propped up against the back banister, and read the pamphlet while balancing it on his knees.

* * *

The stop at Arc's apartment was quick. He basically ducked in, dropped his things off, and then came out again to lock the door. "There isn't much inside. Most of my time was spent touring the city."

"Pretty cool," Kensuke had said, "Huh?"

"Indeed. Deserving of the title 'Fortress of mankind." Was what Arc had said.

It piqued Asuka's curiosity. She had heard of the nickname before, and perhaps it was deserved with all the thick geometric buildings and heavy earthworks in parts of this high-tech city. However, combined with the section two vans patrolling his neighborhood and the offhand suggestion that he was a spy, Asuka couldn't help but wonder what this boy was really about.

She faked loosing her bus pass, daring not to reveal her NERV status in front of Touji. Ironically, he offered to share his bus pass with her. "Bought it for my sister and me," He said, waving the little card, "Since she died I haven't used nearly enough of the balance on here."

She tried to refuse, but secretly she was relieved. In the very least it would break the chain of continual use of the pass since her flight from the apartment. As she boarded the bus, she wondered if that section two van was actually patrolling for _her._

As the bus bounced down the roadways of Tokyo-3 in the dusk lighting, Kensuke eagerly unfolded the map to reveal their destination. Touji sat on the aisle seat next to him while Arc and Asuka leaned over from the seat in front of them. "Ah!" Kensuke announced as a finger stabbed on the paper map.

The other three looked at it. "Er… what am I looking at?" Touji asked.

"Where we're going! The waterfront." Kensuke said.

Asuka blinked as she tried to recall the last few times she was at the waterfront- even in her Evangelion. She had only been there during the first tour of Tokyo-3 with her mother, courtesy of Misato, shortly after they had arrived in the city. The giant reflection towers were for providing power and illumiation to the geofront below, while the marina was for water treatment and reactor coolant for the base (on top of being a recreational facility for the residents here).

Yet Kensuke was some kind of enthusiast for abandoned ruins…. "I didn't think the waterfront was abandoned…." She said.

"Most of it isn't, but there's this one corner to the west where they have some shutdown buildings. It's the Maritime museum for the Artificial Evolution Labs."

Arc blinked.

"So… like… an aquarium?" Touji asked.

"Used to be." Kensuke said, "Back when this place was still up and running in the eighties, they used to take public funding and have some of their stuff on display. The other museums got bulldozed or re-purposed when GERHIN packed up, but they never did anything with the marine exhibit!"

"Interesting." Arc replied, rubbing his chin. Then he asked, "What's the security like there?"

"Next. To. None." Kensuke replied and folded the map, "Just fences and signs! I've already been by the place once or twice but never thought about going in. It's gonna be fun with a party!"

Arc rubbed his chin. "How close is this to the waterfront? Is it likely they have police patrolling private property there on occasion?"

"I haven't seen anyone." Kensuke said.

Arc had a thoughtful look on his face. Asuka saw it, but didn't let her gaze linger. She stared into space.

"Hey," Touji said, reaching out and nudging her arm, "you ok?" Asuka jumped. Her eyes darted to Touji, wide and intense. Touji didn't seem to notice, "You've like been on edge ever since we ran into you. What's up?"

Asuka blinked, She parted her lips, about to reveal the truth, but then decided against it. "It's nothing… Just away from home…."

"Folks looking for ya?"

"Yeah…"

* * *

Clouds choked the sky over Tokyo-3, under-lit by the many street lights of the city and giving a dull red haze to the skyline. Rain seemed a distinct possibility.

Kensuke had brought a pair of mag-lite flashlights, both of them with red lights in the bulbs. "Good thinking," Arc said upon discovering the fact, and explained to the others, "Red light does not interfere with your night vision."

Touji only grumbled, "Yeah but it's gonna wash out the color on anything isn't it?"

Kensuke snickered as he slipped on a headband-mounted light.

They departed from the bus several blocks from their ultimate destination and walked the rest of the way. Asuka glanced occasionally at the giant reflection mirrors in the distance: dark, ominous reminders of the presence of NERV over even this remote corner of the city.

"Wonder what they're for." Touji said.

"Huh?" Asuka asked.

Touji had been following her gaze and nodded to the mirrors. "Those things. Solar panels?"

"Probably for NERV Base." Kensuke said.

"I thought you had 'connections' or somethin'."

"Ah, but I'm not omnipotent!" Kensuke replied, the smile audible in his tone.

The road they were travelling was broken with greenery here and there, and the active streetlights were sparse and of an older model. It was pretty clear nobody traveled this area of town a lot.

"I recall," Arc said, "This area was zoned light industrial."

"Correct!" Kensuke said, "Most of Tokyo-3's water and hydro-activities section is down here! Water reclamation, pump equipment… most of it is automated as well."

"Security cameras?"

"Only in the important areas. We shouldn't be where anyone would care about people being there."

Asuka had been eyeing a fence they were approaching as they walked down the gently sloping road in a line. Her eyes now jumped up over the edge of the fence and to the angled buildings beyond. Her eyes widened a little as she could make out some black English lettering along one of the angled faces. Letters were missing, but she could guess what it was supposed to mean.

"We're here!" Kensuke chimed as best as he could under his breath.

Arc read the characters, "Hakone Evolutionary Labs, Bio-marine exhibit center." His gaze ended at the nautilus relief carved into the naked granite.

Touji looked at the high chain link fence. "So… how are we getting in?"

"Follow me." Kensuke uttered under his breath in a sinister tone. One could almost see the suspicious glint of his glasses in the light as he gestured with a crooked finger.

Arc arched an eyebrow, and strode up beside Asuka. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." Asuka replied.

It was something to do, and being here took her mind off of trying to evade Section two. This otaku knew what he was doing and obviously knew ways to dodge the law.

And…

Her mother had been part of what was going on here before, wasn't she? Yes… something she remembered reading about. Moma was in Japan… Papa was going to go visit her… or had visited her. Is that how they met, through this place?

Maybe she could get some answers here to questions she never dared to ask.

She balled her fists and followed the boys into the shadows.

* * *

The fence wasn't hard to navigate. The plant life had absorbed the metal grating into its structure and long ago a tree had fallen, creating a gap that was meshed in bushes. Kensuke needed to brush through them to enter the premises. "Everyone have long pants?"

That was a redundant question, but Asuka felt the brambles scratch around the legs of her pants as she pushed over what was left of the fence. Arc, behind her, followed silently.

The Hakone Artificial Evolution Bio-marine exhibit may have had a large parking lot as part of it once, perhaps now buried under the ultra-modern pump facility across the street. All that remained were cracked and abandoned segments of blacktop with chipped paint marking where parking lines used to be. Bent and weathered handicap and staff parking signs lined the cracked sidewalk where tall weeds had grown with abandon. They trudged along this, approaching the lip of a long segmented stairway that went down into a sunken entrance to the building.

They all went down the stairway, pushing through the strands of green that stood to interfere. There was still enough light from the street lights and red sky to see, in the steps, mosaics of fish and undersea creatures made out of colored stones. It was almost heartbreaking for Asuka to see them in such a state of disrepair.

"Amazing…" Arc said, walking up to a column that supported the overhang over the entrance. His hand touched the relief carvings of fossils and bone networks, "I haven't seen some of these creatures…"

"I think that's what part of 'artificial evolution' was about." Kensuke said, walking up to the glass and peering inside. Asuka also walked up to the glass. She raised a hand.

"Aht!" Kensuke hissed, "Careful! Don't want to let anyone know we were here." He waved her over to a clear spot for her to peer through.

The lobby may have been grand, once. On the tiled floor just beyond the entry was the nautilus again, rendered in dark tile amidst a white tile floor. A long desk was beyond, and in the dim lighting Asuka could just make out the frame of what might have been a back-board to display information for visitors. Not much else could be seen in the dim lighting.

Touji and Arc walked up to the pair. "So… now what?" Touji asked, "Did you plan on getting in too or what?"

"Of course I did!" Kensuke said, "Not much of a trip if we didn't. I don't think we can get in here though, nor should we… let's circle the building and see if there's another discreet way in."

"I thought you scouted the place before coming!" Touji hissed as he and Kensuke started back for the stairs.

Asuka remained by the window, staring inside at the sad and lonely place.

"You feel it," Arc said, "The loneliness?"

"Yes…" Asuka said, and then turned to look at him.

Arc was a little taller than she was, and at the distance he stood away from her he seemed as dark as the pillar. She couldn't see his expression, but she could read some sorrow in his tone as he said, "Part of the reason I visit places like this, I guess, is to know that feeling of loneliness. It helps me to identify the feeling within myself. Also… perhaps…" He raised his head a little, "I visit places like these to help them remember what they could have been like during their prime. There are plenty of abandoned places in Russia that were once grand and important, meant for something more instead of neglect and wreckage. Maybe in coming here I can help imagine what could have been, instead of what they became."

Asuka blinked, finding herself resonating in the thoughts that Arc was creating. She parted her lips.

"Hey!" Kensuke's voice rasped from the top of the stairs, "You two coming or what?"

"Da." Arc uttered and turned without another word. He took two steps, then looked back at Asuka.

She nodded her head and started forward, tugging the hem of her sweater down in case she needed to navigate more brambles.

* * *

Architects and landscapers don't rely just on fences to dissuade people from going places they shouldn't. Sloping hills and greenery with bushes can be just as effective normally as fences or signs. However, with the facility in such disrepair even these safeguards were ignored with the rest of the overgrowth as Kensuke pushed forward, Touji behind, Asuka in third and Arc at the rear.

They were on the east side of the facility, facing the giant reflection mirrors in the distance. As they paused at the top of the hill Asuka glanced over at the reflection mirrors again. They had turned some, now facing north-west in ominous silence. Their peaks were occasionally winking dull red navigation lights at their tops.

"I think we can use this to get to the roof…" Kensuke was saying, pulling at the sturdy branch of a tree that arced close to the roof of the building.

"Hell no!" Touji rasped, "I'm not gonna risk my life on a stupid little branch!" He was meaning how thin the branch went as it got closer to the roof, "Besides, you can't get a grip on that slope! Let's find another place!"

"The roof's the best way to get in from here!" Kensuke argued even as Touji beat through the brushes.

Arc reached up and tugged on the limb that Kensuke had earlier grabbed on. Then, he pulled himself up with a grunt.

Kensuke and Asuka watched in amazement as the boy scaled into the tree, swung around the trunk, and then stepped on to the branch that arced out over the granite roof. The tree groaned in protest. "I do not know how well this tree will hold up, but if it holds me it should hold the rest of you. I presume I am the heaviest of us four." Arc said as he bent low on the branch.

Touji came back up the hill and watched with the others as he crossed the branch. "How can he do that?" Touji asked.

Arc neared the edge of the limb, which was already swaying uncomfortably. He studied the edge for a moment, then took in a breath and pounced.

Asuka and Kensuke gasped as Arc hit the roof and rolled, but in a seemingly expert fashion. Slowly he came up, and the tree branch continued to sway. He cupped his hands to direct his voice, "The gap is too long to just step off. How about I go inside and try to find a way to open a door?"

Kensuke stepped closer to the edge of the rise to rasp back, "Try to find the nearest door but be careful!"

Asuka heard the snapping of something metal and saw a glint in Arc's hands as he must have produced a pocket knife. His figure nodded and he set off across the roof.

The three waited on the hill and watch him cross the roof, looking for an entry.

"Man," Touji sighed, "Who is that guy?"

"A veteran…" Kensuke sighed, "I should have known, this is a cakewalk compared to full-grade military installations in Russia!"

"I dunno man," Touji uttered, "That jump-and-roll didn't look like an amateur stunt to me."

"Better than anything you could have done."

"Well at least he's a better urbax-person-thing than you are!"

Kensuke made a low groan but couldn't disagree.

Arc came back. "I need a flashlight!"

Kensuke pulled out one of the two mag-lites he had on him and weighted it. "Er…"

"Give it." Touji said, taking it. He approached the hill, took a stance, and then hurled the Mag-lite.

It spun in the air, and somehow the Russian caught it. He turned immediately and started for a deliberate point on the roof. Then he disappeared from view.

"That guy…" Touji uttered.

Kensuke sighed. "Well… all we can do is wait now."

Touji grunted. "Figures. He'll probably get all lost in there and-"

"He knows what he's doing." Kensuke said.

"…I guess."

As she waited Asuka looked up at the skyline and at the patches of clouds slowly drifting by. The winking of the NERV Reflection towers caught her attention again.

* * *

NERV at night was almost the same as NERV in the morning… only the quiet vacancy was accented by the fact that it would stay that way for a while.

Ritsuko Akagi was used to these long night hours. NERV was practically her entire existence, and often it demanded its higher-level employees to remain and devote over-time to the completion of critical tasks. In this case, it was finishing the time-intensive maintenance reports of all three Evangelion units. At least she was pleased to see unit two pass all of the secondary static tests.

She sighed.

News of Kyoko's activities were not hard to ignore, especially when Maya was quite animate about it over the phone. Quick-thinking and fact-checking on Ritsuko's part had allowed her to circumvent normal procedure to contact Gendo directly. Fortunately he was in agreement on this supererogatory delegation of section two resources. There were also complaints about Dr. Zeppelin on file from NERV's _tactical_ division, though Ritsuko need not peruse those to know who filed them, why, and when. Especially since she had checked on Misato herself only this afternoon.

Ritsuko could not predict when it would end or how, but for some reason she was hoping Shinji and Asuka could be spared any more mauling from what-

The phone rang.

Her phone didn't often ring at this time of night, so she leaned over in her seat to see who it was. Her eyebrows shot up as she read IKARI S on the caller ID. She checked the clock as she picked up the phone. "Shinji?"

"D-Doctor Akagi? I-I hope I'm not bothering you…"

"You never have, Shinji. What can I do for you?"

"I…er…. Well… I decided to read that uhm… 'Pilot's instruction handbook' thing that Doctor Zeppelin gave me on the first day. I-I had some questions I wanted to ask."

_He's reading the regulations_. Ritsuko blinked in surprise. "I don't know if I'm fit to answer them Shinji…"

"O-oh…"

Ritsuko glanced at the clock again, and then at the files on her computer. The reports had to be filed and completed within 48 hours of the end of the maintenance cycle on the Evangelions. That cycle was still in progress.

"But I can try my best to help you find them." Ritsuko added.

* * *

Even dressing warm isn't enough in the cold air sometimes. One has to keep moving to be generating heat. The three teenagers were nearly shivering on the hill from waiting. "What's taking him so damn long!" Touji had just about asked when the sound of breaking metal was heard.

The three of them looked down the hill to see a side service door opening. A man stepped out, looked up, and waved to them.

"All right!" Kensuke breathed. They all stood and started down the hill.

The fence here had also collapsed long ago, and they stepped over it. The shivering metal rang dim in the air before their shoes hit the concrete. Arc stood before the doorway as they approached.

"Be careful," He said, "And touch nothing. Some of the paint is giving way and I do not know how much asbestos is here."

"Asbestos?" Asuka asked.

Kensuke parted his lips but Arc beat him to it, "Asbestos is a insulation compound that was discovered to have health hazards when inhaled. I want to believe NERV was more sophisticated then to use it here, and possible dosages are small, but let us not take chances."

Kensuke asked as he stepped inside, "Aren't the dosages minimal though?"

"As I said, let us not take chances." He closed the door when all four of them were inside.

* * *

They were in a maintenance closet. The door was ajar, leading them into a main hallway. Both mag-lites were on and were the only illumination in the darkened space.

Minor debris stuck out on a blue carpet faded with dust. Polished black walls angled up opposite of the maintenance closet to a sloped shelf that lead up to a pain of glass. As Kensuke's light played across it, Asuka could see the typical rock faces found in other aquariums and the like from other places she had visited. They had stepped on to an exhibit hall.

"I'll be…" Kensuke uttered, hushed and awed, "They had Trilobites in here!"

"What?" Touji asked, following his friend to the glass.

Kensuke's light went right to an exhibit panel. The lamination had peeled, but the information was there… along with the picture of the creature in question. Kensuke's eyes flashed over the wording and he nodded in amazement, "My God…."

"Hello?" Touji soft-punched his friend in the head, "Can you communicate with us normal people?"

Kensuke looked at him. "Trilobites were an ancient life-form found only in fossils. They've been dead for millions of years. If this exhibit's right, then it means they had some of them in the tank."

Touji took a moment to process the information. "But how can they do that if they're all fossils? Did they-"

"They re-animated them." Asuka suggested, and then emphasized as the boys looked at her, "Brought them back to life."

"Is that even possible? From fossils?" Touji asked, "Sounds like something out of Jurassic park or somethin'. That can't happen can it?"

Nobody offered an answer to the question.

Arc's mag-lite played down the other display panels, before he looked up at one overhanging the section they were in. "Someone," He said, "What does this say?"

"Recitation and reanimation section." Asuka read aloud.

Arc's light lowered to the floor and he turned, "You would think that with such capabilities, this would have reached the news. I wonder why they closed this facility down?"

Asuka was wondering the same thing.

* * *

The main hall wasn't far from where they started. After seeing two more vacant exhibits of creatures none of them ever knew existed, they left the 'resuscitation' wing and entered the larger room, finding out that they were on the second story.

Asuka tried to piece together how the room looked as both red-hued mag-lites swept the interior. The room was actually three stories high, with the second story bending around a giant sculpture of a human being standing upright. It was an abstract sculpture, showing only nerve endings entwining inside a skeleton. Behind it were large glass windows looking out into what used to be a food court. Plastic tables held the upside-down chairs, but several of them were still upright and held only clusters of leaves.

The floor was carpet, and also had minor debris from an increasingly apparent half-hearted evacuation of the place. "This whole place was not stripped entirely clean." Arc observed, the mag-lite stopping at some signs that could have been easily removed otherwise.

"Doesn't make sense." Kensuke said, "I mean, they just locked the place and left all this behind?"

"What about the critters?" Touji asked, "I mean, they took them didn't they?"

Asuka's mind made her consider the possibility that NERV- or whoever- _hadn't_ removed the creatures. Maybe Jurassic Park wasn't too far of an analogy for this instance.

"The evacuation doesn't look rushed." Arc observed, "They may have removed the animals but all the exhibits are still in place."

They had been walking around the semi-circle surrounding the front of the sculpture and reached the stairs. Arc was leading the party with his mag-lite, aiming it down the steps and noting the debris there before stepping down the tiled walkway.

"Pretty weird…" Touji said.

Kensuke asked, "Arc, did you see any alarms or anything?"

"None that were obvious, or have any analogy to anything I have seen." Arc replied, "I believe they cut the power. I haven't seen or heard anything indicative of an alarm since entry."

"Not even the trap door you used to get in here?" Kensuke asked.

"I came in through a broken skylight." Arc said.

Asuka's head turned and looked around at the bottom floor of the lobby. One of the mag-lites swept past a sign. "Wait," She said, moving to Kensuke, "Let me see that."

Kensuke surrendered the light with no protest and watched as Asuka's light went back to the sign she spotted earlier.

'STAFF OFFICES'

She moved towards it. "Uer…" Kensuke started to protest, but Touji followed her.

Asuka, light in hand, moved to the double doors. They were, surprisingly, unlocked. The loud clatter of the door opening made the guys pause, but Asuka pushed into the corridor without hesitation.

Doors were open here, some ajar, others closed. Office papers were discarded here and there. Immediately to the left of the entry was another desk, and on a back wall was a sign with names. Her eyes played across the immediately until she found one she wanted. She took off.

"H-Hey!" Kensuke cried, but the men tried to catch up as Asuka's strides were long and wide behind the mag-lite flash light.

She turned a corner. Continued down a long way. Her eyes darted up to the signs before the doors until-

There.

She pushed against the door. It was locked. She tried again. When it didn't budge she turned her head.

Arc was already advancing and Asuka could see the tool that he had out earlier. Whatever it was, it was longer than a swiss army knife… making it about half a foot long as he held it. He was already pulling out a tool- having handed his flashlight to Kensuke. "Excuse me."

She moved aside and Arc crowded up against the door. "Hey," Touji asked, Asuka hearing a hint of concern in his voice, "What's up?"

Asuka looked at them and debated for a moment if she wanted to tell them this was her mother's office. What would it say about her background? Before she could answer, Arc had the door open.

It swung inward.

Arc stepped back to allow Asuka to step inside.

The office was as one could expect of a contemporary school person's office: one room, with filing cabinets and a desk. The computer was gone, along with the monitor and keyboard…

But everything else was here.

Asuka moved the mag-lite over the things. Photographs. Plaques. Accomplishments and accolades. A photo of people. She hesitated as she tried to recognize the people in one of them. She could identify her mother, eager and smiling, garbed in the uniform of a freshly graduated university student. The elderly people on either side of her must be the grandparents Asuka never met… they died during the second impact. She looked back up at the faces- a German man and an Asian woman. Almost like her own parents.

Her mother looked so much like her…

"What kind of a name is _Zeppelin?_" Asuka heard Touji whisper behind her as the men stepped into the room.

"German I think…" Kensuke said, and then asked, "Er… why are we here?"

"This… I think…" Asuka started to say but stopped as she spied some smaller pictures. She immediately stepped forward, rounding the desk to grab one of them. Slowly she sank into the dusty chair behind it.

Touji stepped forward. "Hey… you okay?"

Asuka didn't hear her as she stared at the photograph she was holding.

A man and a woman, perhaps in their later twenties, somewhere with a mountainous background. The man had short hair, a hawkish grin on his face with a predatory look in his eyes. Beneath his chin, hugging him close, was a blond woman with a wide smile and eager, open eyes. Both of them garbed in outdoor wear, with hoods visible. Voids in the photograph under the red light might have been snow.

Asuka had never seen her mother so happy.

Her mother's left hand was visible in the picture. No ring. This was before she was married. Her eyes went to other photographs.

"Er…" Touji said, "Is it me or does this chick look like you?"

"Is it your mother?" Kensuke asked.

Asuka whirled. Her eyes went to Touji, and they could all see how wide they were.

"No way!" Kensuke cried, "You mom worked here?"

"I…" Asuka looked down at the photograph. Then looked at others.

More and more events with him in them. The man that would become Asuka's father was clearly the focus of some of these events. One of them looked like a picture overlooking Hakone, when this museum was in it's prime. Another in some snow-covered land far away.

"Interesting." Arc said, "Kensuke, the light over here."

Kensuke joined Arc by a filing cabinet. "Woa! This is big!" Kensuke had pulled out one of the notebooks and opened it. Both men were looking at the contents. "What the hell is this!" Kensuke asked, "I mean…. Looks like a person but…"

Arc read off a collection of letters, then strung them together under his breath, "Adam…" Though, saying the name did not clear the confusion on his face.

Touji moved closer to the chair, seeking Asuka's expression after she picked up another picture and was looking at it. "You all right?" he asked.

"I…" Asuka shook her head, not sure if she could believe the pictures of the smiling, bright, blond woman in the photographs. At least one of the ensemble was an embarrassing one, but she was all smiles.

How could this woman be Kyoko Zeppelin, director of NERV and vengeful mother of-

Arc said something quick and harsh in Russian. His eyes were wide as he turned. Then he said to Kensuke, "How often do you see places like this, abandoned?"

"…Many, why-"

"How many of them have graffiti or other obvious marks of vandalism?"

"A lot of them…"

"This place has none."

Touji blinked. "What does that mean?"

"It means there's likely a security detail, or some alarm, to keep trespassers off the premises to prevent anyone from further degrading the facility."

"Shit." Immediately came from Kensuke.

"I thought you said there were no alarms!" Touji replied.

Arc folded the book he and Kensuke were looking at immediately and slid it back into place as he said, "If there's ever a corner for privacy, it will be used. Anything from homeless taking shelter to gang activities. Looters would have pillaged all this long ago if there wasn't someone watching." Turning, he said to Asuka, "Put them back."

Asuka hesitated.

"Put them back now!"

Asuka did as she was told. She stood before Arc's hand could grab her.

"What the hell-" Touji began.

"We need to leave. Now." Arc replied quickly.

Kensuke was already approaching the door. Arc took Asuka's flashlight.

"Maybe they just couldn't get in?" Touji suggested.

"That wouldn't stop them from using the outside of the building as a canvas for aerosols."

Arc pulled the door closed after Asuka moved out. They started back the way they came.

They passed through the door back into the lobby when they heard a sound none of them made. All heads looked up the walkway into the lobby… where there were lights.

"Oh fuck-!" Kensuke uttered under his breath.

The four broke into a run towards the stairway. If they could get upstairs, they'd be closer to their exit and able to make it outside and hide. Or something.

They made it up the spiral staircase, but before Asuka could hurry across the walk-way in front of the large sculpture, Arc had grabbed her. A hand clamped around her mouth and the other went across her middle to bring her to a halt and pull her back against the wall.

"You two!" A new voice cried, and a large white-intensity light blared upon Kensuke and Touji.

The walkway they were crossing was open on both sides. Anyone in the lobby could look up and see anyone crossing that bridge. Kensuke and Touji winced to see a pair of spotlights trained on them from below. "Come down now!"

The two of them, hands raised, slowly turned and walked back for the stairway. Touji looked up.

Arc was pressed against the wall, holding Asuka close to him. Both of them hadn't crossed the walkway and were invisible to the security members now showing lights on them. Arc was looking back at Touji while asuka's eyes were open, wide in fear. Arc shook his head, and then nodded to Asuka in his grip.

Touji hesitated, but then wet his lips and nodded a little. He started forward at an increased pace, rounding the stairs and coming down to keep the men below from coming up and discovering them. Kensuke also looked, but Arc shook his head again before Kensuke could say anything.

"Come on, Ken." Touji said.

Kensuke followed, not sure what was going on but following anyway.

Asuka's heartbeat was skyrocketing, but she didn't say anything as Arc's hold did not move. She could guess why he silenced her, but the fact that his grip was tight and uncompromising was no comfort for her.

"You two alone?"

"Er-"

"Yes," Touji interrupted, "Just us."

"You two are infringing on private Property. You know what that means?"

"Yeah," Kensuke said, "Yeah we know…"

"Then I don't need to go into the particulars…. Wait a minute, you're the Aida boy aren't you?"

Kensuke made an unhappy sound.

"I've heard about you. Your dad's gonna like to know where you've been. Alright, come on."

The two of them listened to the footfalls, then the front door locking, and then the distant sound of a car driving off. Only when they were alone in the dark did Arc release her.

He let her slip away from him, where she panted and spun to him. "Why didn't you-"

"You would rather be delivered back to your mother?"

Faced with that thought, Asuka's indigence deflated.

"And I would have nowhere left to go," He said, "If I was deported. Which would be the likely outcome for spying."

Asuka, panting, asked, "Are you here to spy?"

Arc didn't say anything.

Asuka rubbed her wrist and looked around at the vacant museum. "What now?"

"We wait another two minutes," He whispered, "And then we leave, as swiftly as possible, with the most discreet path back to a bus route."

Asuka looked at him and was finally motivated to ask the question she had been harboring ever since he scaled that tree. "Who are you?"

"Arkadey Pyotr Shchuka. Honorary Starshiy Leytenant of the Russian Federation, Special army group."

Asuka blinked, a little surprised to have her suspicions confirmed. Then she made a guess, "You were the Jet Alone pilot."

"Correct."

"…You were left behind because of the incident."

"Also correct." Arc adjusted his stance, "My superiors felt someone needed to be blamed for the incident and so I was chosen. My… My father supported their decision and told me personally I would not be coming home."

Asuka sighed, nodding a little. She put her back to the wall they had been leaning against and continued the whispered conversation, "My mother works for NERV."

"You are an Evangelion pilot?"

She sprung away from him by a step, "How could you-!"

Arc hissed her into silence. After she was quiet, he explained, "I met Shinji Ikari following the accident. He convinced me to take up residence here."

"You met… Shinji?"

Arc nodded in the darkness. "He spoke of other pilots his age. I can't imagine what other use NERV would have for someone so young."

Asuka winced. "You're around my age… and you piloted Jet Alone."

"I am seventeen." Arc replied, "It was not a factor in my selection."

"Then what-"

"I do not have to tell you." Arc replied. He brought up a sleeve and checked his watch. "We should go, and quickly. I do not know what alarms we tripped to alert security to our presence, but if they should go off again we should not be here for anyone to find us."

* * *

They essentially re-used the same door they got in to make their escape. Arc was sure to lock it again from the inside before closing the door, then following Asuka back up the hill.

There was no sign of the patrol cars that had come and taken Kensuke and Touji away. Though Asuka still felt guilty for sacrificing two more people for her happiness, she figured what they were going through wouldn't be anywhere near what her mother would be doing to _her_ for this. As for Arc…

The Russian was quiet as Asuka followed him back across the premises. They did not re-trace their footsteps here, rather they went behind the facility and through a deserted playground to reach another breach in the fence accessible by a downed tree. After scaling it they made their way through the dark to another lonely road, and from there were walking westward towards the reflection mirrors.

They had turned again, Asuka noticed, and as the light rain was falling around them she felt even smaller against the massive shadow of the NERV complex.

…And part of her mind was still wondering what it was at NERV that transformed such a smiling person into… into…

"It might be a little suspicious if we take a bus this close," Arc said as he tucked the mag-lite into his jacket, "But we have no choice. I don't think either of us wants to be walking in the rain this long."

Asuka nodded.

They reached a lonely bus stop and waited in silence. Before long a bus did arrive, occupied by a few late commuters and the like headed home indirectly. Arc flashed his bus pass to cover the two of them before boarding with her and taking a seat near the back.

"Your name is Asuka." Arc said as they sat down, "But I do not know your surname."

"Langley." She replied.

Arc repeated it. "American?"

"My father." She replied, "Though he's German. Family emigrated there."

"The office that we went to was for a Zeppelin."

"…My mother."

Arc hesitated, reading her expression. "You seem troubled by what you found there."

Asuka worked her jaw, not sure if she wanted to vocalize what she was thinking. She looked at him.

Arc's face was impassive, though his eyes seemed be absent of the passive hostility she had seen in them before.

…If she couldn't talk to this person… or Shinji… who could she talk to? She swallowed. Then… "I've never seen that side of my mother before… in those pictures. It was like she was a different person. My mother is… very… strict…" she looked at him, "She sets rules and expects them to be obeyed."

"I gathered that impression."

"It's… It's more than that…" Asuka sighed, remembering the arguments… the pain… the reason for her flight. She took a breath and returned to the present matter, "I… I can't remember a time when she was anything else. When I was a little girl she was always away at the lab… busy," she swung her head, "Busy, busy…."

She stared at the floor of the bouncing bus and continued, "One day I hear there was an accident. Then she came home… but it wasn't like before. Something was different." She took a breath, "And then… she came to me, one day out of the blue, and told me I was going to be an Evangelion pilot. She would help me and train me."

"It must have been exiting for you."

"It was! At first…" Asuka said, "I was going to be something nobody else could be! Or could be! But… then…" She trailed off.

"…You got to meet her."

"Yeah…" Asuka said softly, "I got to see more of my mother than I ever did before. She was there," she looked at him, "All the time. Over my grades, over my schooling… pushing, pushing, pushing. She… threatened me…" One of her hands slid up her shoulders at a memory planted long ago.

Arc didn't move, just watched her.

She swallowed and pressed past it. "It's been that way ever since. Then we came here when NERV called us… my mom, me, and the Eva. We've been here since. Things were more or less stable that way until Shinji came."

Arc had brought one of his legs up to press the sole of his shoe against the seat he was resting on. He balanced his chin against it, watching her, as she spoke. Now he rubbed his chin as he leaned back into the chair and thought for a moment. "Shinji must have upset the balance."

"…I guess…" Asuka said, unable to go into specifics, "My mother hates him."

"Do you?"

Asuka looked at him.

Arc's stare was still impassive, but that tone of an inviting gaze was still there.

She looked away and smiled a little. "Until Shinji came to my apartment one evening with a dinner he made for himself, after seeing me suffer, nobody had bothered to extend a hand and try to be my friend. Most people, after one try, just give up and go away. Shinji's…always been coming back."

Arc nodded a little.

Asuka lowered her head. "I wish I could talk to him… tell him I'm sorry for what he's had to go through. He was evicted from his home on my mom's orders and… I…" She swallowed in an attempt to hold back some tears, "I made him suffer for it."

When Asuka didn't hear Arc say anything she looked up. The Russian had his phone open and was writing something down on the bus pass. Asuka blinked.

Arc handed it to her. "This is Shinji's cellular phone number. He gave it to me when we met earlier today."

Asuka took the pass and looked at it. Then at Arc, "I can't take this-"

"You said you didn't have a bus pass. You can use that one. I have money," He waved a hand dismissively, "I can buy more. I gather, being on the run, you have no income of your own?"

Asuka swallowed. Every time she used her NERV card, it meant Section two could probably track her. "Not really…"

"If you like," He said, "I could help you get an apartment for the night. I did some scouting of such places earlier this evening. Many of my latter choices seemed promising."

"…Why are you doing this for me?" Asuka asked.

Arc shrugged. "Perhaps…" he looked out the window. He hesitated before speaking, and then finally said, "Perhaps because, when I first approached you, I saw another foreigner lost in a country unwillingly. Maybe I haven't heard anything yet to dissuade me from that impression."

* * *

It shouldn't have been surprising that Arc's better choices were just outside the center of the city. It did seem pretty unusual to be hiding so close to the center of where she wanted to get away from, though.

Though Arc generously offered to pay for her room, Asuka decided to use another credit card she had in her wallet. "Thank you." She said, after Arc had waited for her in the lobby to finish.

Arc hesitated, but then nodded a little. "It was no effort. I only hope things improve for you."

"Er…" Asuka said before Arc turned away, "It was… nice meeting you."

"The pleasure was mine."

"…You think we'll see each other again?"

Arc hesitated once more, then shrugged a little. "You know Ikari, and Ikari knows me. If nothing else you know where I live. Perhaps we will see one another again."

Asuka smiled a little.

Arc gave a parting nod, "Farewell and goodnight, miss Langley."

"Goodnight Leytenant."

Arc gave a wry grin before leaving the apartment lobby.

Asuka wasted no time going to her assigned room. Spare as it was, it was bigger and more welcoming than her room she had left behind in her assigned apartment block. Better lit as well.

She probably confused the hotel managers by arriving without any baggage of any sort, but she didn't care. After locking the door she dropped down on the bed to process the day and what had happened.

Eviction from her home. Flight. Meeting with hostile strangers. Befriending a Russian. Going to a derelict building. Discovering secrets of NERV… discovering secrets about her mother.

She sighed.

Then… feeling the bus pass crinkled in her hand, she decided on her next move. Sitting on the edge of the bed she considered the phone on her night stand. The hotel was offering free calls after 9 o'clock, which was already five minutes gone. She decided to make the call before she would miss her chance.

She picked up the white plastic phone, shakily dialed the number, and waited. She felt tight in her chest as she-

"Hello?"

"Shinji?" She asked without thinking about how she would have opened a greeting.

"Asuka?"

Her heart started to rise, happy to hear him for some reason. He went on, "Where are you? Are you okay? I-I thought-"

"I'm okay for now… I found a place. Shinji, I… I…." She felt herself beginning to tear up.

"Asuka? Are you all right?"

"I'm sorry!" She bleated into the phone, "I'm sorry for getting you evicted from your place! I was so stupid and selfish and-"

There was a knock on her door. Asuka turned around. "W-Who is…"

The door opened.

Asuka's joy evaporated instantly as four suited men entered the apartment. All of them had those same black glasses and ear-pieces. "Asuka Soyru Langley," The point-man said, "Come with us, please. You are now under custody of section two."

"…Section two…" Asuka muttered into the phone.

"Asuka," Shinji's voice came, odd and serious, "Tell them you're citing pilot regulation 24. Don't say anything else. Did you hear me?"

Asuka mouthed the words.

"Miss Langley-"

"I-I.." she started, "I am citing pilot regulation 24."

The men in black looked at one another.

Asuka swallowed, and then followed Shinji's prompt, "I-I want to speak to the commander."

* * *

The black van was very ominous and out of place on that downtown street, even at 9:30. The redhead going into it was pretty, but a little crestfallen. She entered the van with her fists balled.

Down the street, a boy sighed. He turned to the man he was conversing with and continued speaking in Russian. The acquaintance nodded, wished him luck, and then slipped away into the sparse crowds.

The boy took another look at the retreating black van before turning into another hotel where he would be spending the night, his face a mask of joyless duty.


	17. Legalities

XVII

Legalities

One would think ten o'clock at night was hardly the time for NERV to be exiting outside of an angel attack. Really, this was also the case that Tuesday night, but important things were in motion concerning key personnel.

Two issues arrived to the attention of Kozo Fuyutsuki; subcommander and night-shift senior officer of the quiet hours at NERV. The first was the notification of two young people found snooping inside one of the sealed-off Hakone-era special government exhibits. The subcommander had little time to do other than ponder _why_ the place hadn't been demolished already when news came in of the second child's return…

But there was a complication.

He had to ask his secretary to pull up a copy of the pilot's manual regulations. It surprised him how much was in here yet how little was actually used by the pilots up until this point. Whomever drafted the documents apparently did so in such a way as to give full protection and rights to the pilots as employees of NERV. One looking at the document could surmise that the authors presumed such an individual was seen as being _more_ than just a controllable puppet to pilot weapons at the command of NERV.

And now someone had instructed the second child on their use.

Despite the mounting complications this issue was revealing, he personally wasn't begrudging the child the use of her rights. He had been a silent witness to the science department battles back and forth, going on like gossip of some bad television drama. He knew inter-factional warfare promoted competition, but the stories were getting increasingly ridiculous. He had been in earshot when he heard of Dr. Zeppelin's mass-deployment of section two, and remarked to the Commander how the good doctor seemed to treat the bunch like her own personal army in pursuit of one runaway. It was that remark that caused the commander take swift action.

And now? Now the drama was taking a new turn by the second child taking a _legal_ stand for herself within NERV's framework of operations. He had to take a moment to process all of this, and he knew he couldn't just dump it on someone else. The language of Pilot Regulation 47, he read, required the specific attention of a senior staff officer to mediate the domestic dispute directly concerning the pilot. Harsh treatment and meddling in the private affairs of the pilot in question was, indeed, a breach of those rights and the contract signed by the pilot upon employment. Furthermore, the pilot's mother could not serve in an advocacy position because there was a conflict of interest!

At last! Here was some legal apparatus that allowed the pilot to be something other than under the thumb of the health supervisor of the base. It was one point in this whole situation that Fuyutuski believed could have unraveled the unpleasant knot binding the matter.

Who would have known that any of these 14 year old pilots would have woken up and realized they could fight back? After this event, Fuyutuski would put money to a bet that Gendo would have the rules quietly changed to prevent any more challenges to NERV supreme authority.

Still, the rules were there as written, and had to be acted upon. He would have to make a few phone calls.

And here he was looking forward to a quiet evening of reading to pass the time.

* * *

"Damnit." Kensuke huffed.

Kensuke Aida and Touji Suzuhara had been taken to a detention center on NERV's HQ, to await 'special debriefing' by a senior member of NERV's staff. Kensuke didn't need to be reminded that where he had been was a treasure trove of classified information, and he would be getting a Big Talk and sent home. That was the least of what was to come.

He told Touji this. Suzuhara was exasperated. "You mean you took me somewhere they'd lock us up and stuff?"

"Hey," Kensuke replied, arms crossed, "You're the one who wanted to go toe-to-toe with NERV and give them a piece of your mind, right?"

Touji grumbled in unhappiness of _that other issue_ being raised. "Just wanted a fucking evening out of the house."

Kensuke sighed.

Another long moment passed, and then Touji asked, "You think that Russian did anything to… Asuka?"

Kensuke frowned, "Wouldn't peg him as someone to take advantage of her like that."

Touji had an unhappy look on his face, brow screwed in concern. "I just hope she's all right."

Kensuke looked over. "Hey, you're worried about her, aren't you?"

"Why not? She seemed… she seemed…."

Kensuke snickered. "You've got a crush on her, haven't you?"

"Shut up!" Touji barked. He sighed. "I… I dunno man. Never saw someone that…that vulnerable before."

"How about Shinji after you pummeled him?"

"Shut the fuck up."

The door opened. Both boys turned their heads.

"Well well."

* * *

It would have surprised the boys to know Asuka was in the same facility… just in a different area. Far from the gentle treatment Shinji got when he ran away, Asuka was being handled strictly by Section Two as a security breach. They didn't quite clap her in irons, but only because she hadn't tried to run away.

But they couldn't close in too much, as she had pulled a regulation and even Section Two had to abide by procedure.

…No matter how badly Kyoko Zeppelin wanted to override it.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kyoko demanded to the agent, "That's my daughter. I have every right to see her!"

"I'm afraid not ma'am." NERV's Superior security officer said to her from behind the lobby desk, "The case your daughter has filed has specifically outlined you as a complication. In this instance, I cannot allow you to see her."

Kyoko winced, glancing at the man's name tag and then back at his face, "Colonel Worf, unless you allow me to see my daughter, I will make things very difficult for you."

"Doctor Zeppelin," Worf said, loud and firm, "You will leave this premises at once or I will have you arrested for threatening me."

"I am a senior member of NERV's command-"

"I am an upholder of the law with legal power to arrest you no matter what your standing. I would rather not do the paperwork and try to rationalize why a head member of the most advanced organization on the planet was stupid enough to threaten an officer of the law. Please leave."

Kyoko frowned up at the rather intimidating police officer, then turned and left. The Colonel and the Lieutenant at the desk both watched her walk out of the double doors to NERV's security center.

"I hear she slapped the Lt. General." Lt. Yar said behind the desk.

"I was kind of hoping she would try it just now." Worf replied with the hint of a grin.

* * *

In the back of his mind Shinji knew what he was doing was reckless. He had school tomorrow, as well as a date, and instead of getting to bed early he was headed into NERV again, determined to see Asuka.

That call was still with him.

The contrast between this and their last encounter was palpable. As he sat and thought over the conversation and Asuka's tone, something came out of that thinking that he felt he wanted to protect. He couldn't define the feeling exactly… only…

Only perhaps it had something to do with that look. The one he just spotted fleetingly in her face now and again.

These and other thoughts prevented him from getting sleepy as the next half-hour rolled on. Unable to put her out of his mind, he decided to do something about it.

This was why he was at NERV HQ at 11:00 on a school night.

Passing through the doors, he attempted to make his way to the… where was he going? He stopped just in the lobby as he realized he had no idea where to go.

His hand immediately went to his cell, but who would he call? Maya?

No, he knew.

…But how would Doctor Akagi respond to another round of pestering? They had bid one another goodnight, after she had walked him through all of the questions he had on the little green sheet. She was probably in bed by now, as he should be.

He shook the phone a little in his hand, and then looked up at the directory in front of him… and the messy graphic of the base's layout.

Swallowing, Shinji decided to try figuring this out first. He studied the graphic a little more, then turned and started through the base.

* * *

In most other situations, Kensuke Aida would have been quite amused to see Touji Suzuhara so subdued by a woman. Of course in most other situations, Kensuke would not be in the fire with him.

Both boys were seated across the desk from the lady with the brown hair and impassive eyes. She was hitting a stack of papers together- letting them fall to the desk and land on their bottoms while she held them in her hands. The slam of the stack was like a lash on their minds with each blow.

The woman ironically laid the stack gently on the desk, then folded her hands in front of her face. Her mouth was obscured as she looked over them. "This stack of papers is the paperwork all of us have to fill out, for your violation of NERV private property."

Kensuke couldn't resist looking at the stack of papers. It was about two inches high.

"Both of your parents have been contacted," She said, "But you will have to deal with NERV first before we release you into your respective parental jurisdictions. The legal punishment for trespassing of this scale is twenty-five years jail sentence without parole. Assuming, of course, the committee does not decide on the death penalty instead."

"W-Wait," Kensuke said, "That's wrong! N-Not in-"

"The moment you involved yourselves on NERV property was the moment you rescinded all rights to a civilian criminal court case." The woman said, "As defined on the signs you no doubt ignored."

Kensuke swallowed. Now he wasn't sure about ANYTHING he knew about the legal status of Urbexing.

"In addition," She said, "We have reason to believe you two are guilty of other crimes other than trespassing including, but not limited to, theft and willful destruction of property. A full investigation would be necessary to determine the status of these and other charges that are filed against you by NERV."

"WE-WE DIDN'T KNOW!" Kensuke blasted, now as white as the sheets of paper, "WE-We didn't intend for any…any…." He lost his composure, shaking and unable to finish what he was saying as the images of what jail would be like… as well as what the other inmates would do to him.

The woman's eyes flicked to Touji. In contrast, Touji had just been staring into the desk, not moving or saying anything.

"Mister Suzuhara," The woman said, "Do you have anything to say in your defense to the trespassing charges?"

"You caught me didn't you? What's lying going to do?"

"Then you admit to trespassing?"

"Sure, whatever."

"Then you concede to the charges against you? Of trespassing, theft, destruction of property and other charges?"

Touji said nothing.

"…If you do not respond that could be considered contempt of court."

"Fine yes whatever." Touji grunted, sitting up and crossing his arms, "Whatever makes you happy. You've already taken my sister away, might as well take me too. Do me a favor and all."

"Your sister?"

Touji's eyes winced in anger. "Your fucking robot mashed her to bits on day one." He looked away, "Not that you probably care and all, since we're not important right?"

The woman looked between the boys, then closed her eyes. "I see." She parted her hands to pick up the papers, "Because the two of you are living under the jurisdictions of NERV employees, punishment will be directed instead at your guardians. You will be dismissed into their care. However," Her eyes shot to Kensuke, "Because of this breach of security we will be instructing guards to carry live ammunition and patrol areas of interest to us regularly. Anyone there will be shot on sight. You might as well inform anyone else you have on this of this fact, since policy never had to be enforced until now. The two of you are dismissed, a guard outside will take you to a car where you will be driven to your homes. Do not trespass on NERV property again."

Kensuke, still white, shakily left the room. Touji's head was turned down as he left with his friend.

Yui Ikari just grabbed the papers and left the office.

* * *

To his credit, Shinji was told he was two-thirds of the way to the security office when he had to stop and ask for directions from a random employee. "Hey," The operator said on his way out of the base, "Aren't you a little young to be up this late?"

"Y-Yeah… I guess… but I have someone to see." Shinji said on his way out of the junction.

Operator Makoto Hyuga blinked as the boy left, paused for a moment, and then pondered if that was indeed the third children. What was he doing on base? Does anyone know?

He tried to put it out of mind, but as he got to the surface and saw how late it was, he decided to phone somebody.

* * *

It wasn't much, but it was more comfortable than sleeping on the street or something. It was almost the level of the hotel she was coerced into leaving. Only this place had no windows.

Asuka Langly was interred in the security ward, which wasn't as Spartan or as uncomfortable as she would otherwise think. No doubt this was for 'civilized' cases, where someone wasn't arrested properly but was still under guard. How thoughtful.

At least her Mother couldn't reach her here.

Her things were confiscated. The only thing she was allowed to hold on to were her clothes. They even took the bus pass that had Arc's handwriting. Briefly she wondered if he would get into trouble because of her… which lead her back to thoughts of Shinji.

What did he intend when he told her what he did? What WAS That law anyway? She wasn't required to read the little green book that she knew Shinji got the law from- she had been too busy studying.

God only knew what this debacle would do to her education. She was already behind on two of her five subjects she was taking. Her head hurt just thinking about it.

But then, thinking about anything made her head hurt. Even poor Shinji, who was likely further under the gun because of her actions. Sitting on the bed, she pulled her knees up and hugged them gently in a gesture of self-pity.

The thought of getting sleep occurred to her when suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Yes?" She asked.

"You have a visitor." The guard said after opening the door. He gave a wry smile as he stepped back and the visitor passed through the door.

Asuka paled.

"Five minutes," The officer said, then pulled back to close the door and give the two some privacy.

Asuka looked away from Shinji.

The boy stood there for a while, trying to think of something to say. He balled and unballed his fists, wet his lips, but whatever he wanted to say died before he could say it… out of anticipating embarrassment or foolishness of what he wanted to say.

_Shinji… why did you come here?_

He turned his head to look at her. She hadn't said it, but the thought of their last conversation returned to him as he looked at her. It had been so long… yet… not since he had last seen her. Like then she was on a bed now, and under supervision. What would he say to her? Especially given what she said over the phone…

He swallowed.

"I-I'm glad to see you're all right." He said.

Asuka didn't face him for a moment, but blinked behind her knees and decided to be honest. She raised her head, "What did you tell me to do?"

"Huh?"

"The rule, the law or whatever?"

"OH! Er…" Shinji broke his rigid stance, putting a hand to the back of his head, "Er…well… I read the handbook and stuff… There's a regulation in there that lets us protest domestic issues. I-I was looking for something else and I saw that… I decided to call Doctor Akagi and see what she said."

Asuka blinked. All this time she could have pulled it off herself! But… maybe… "And you decided to tell it to me."

Shinji was looking away from her. "I didn't want you to get hurt again."

Asuka felt herself blush.

Shinji swallowed and forced himself to look up again. "Y-Your mom is hurting you. S-She was a-at your…my apartment today, looking for you."

"Makes sense." Asuka said and turned away.

Shinji looked down at the ground again, fists balling. "She wanted to hurt me for seeing you. But I…I don't care."

Asuka turned her head again.

"I just want you to be all right." He hadn't looked up. It wasn't making sense to him, this feeling, and he had no way to articulate it. As his fists were squeezed closed, holding on to that feeling, he tried to think of some way to better describe what it was.

"Shinji I…" No. She couldn't say that. _I don't want your protection_.

Could she go without it? Did she have to depend on someone else?

Did she deserve it?

"…I still have your casserole."

Shinji puffed a laugh out, and then laughed aloud at the forgotten, trivial thing. It was infectious, for Asuka started to smile as well.

Still smiling, he said, "It's been days since we had that."

"Yeah…"

Shinji rubbed an arm. "I was on the run for a while… had to stay with friends."

"I heard some of it."

Shinji bobbed his head a little, then crooked his head sideways with an ironic smile. "Never thought this is what it would be like here. It's already been a week."

Asuka blinked. "Really? I lost track of time."

Shinji nodded a little.

Asuka stared ahead as her thoughts were collecting. "I'm sorry about…" She lowered her head, "About everything."

"I'm sorry for getting you in trouble."

"Not your fault." She shook her head. She worked her jaw a little, not sure just how openly she could speak here. Well, there would be something to determine her future, hopefully with witnesses on her side., including Shinji. She then spoke, "It's my mother's."

"…Er… what's with her anyway?"

"It's a long story." She sighed, "She wasn't always like this. Something happened."

Shinji blinked, then looked down a little, "In GEHRIN?"

Asuka turned to consider Shinji. Blinking, she asked, "Where did you hear of that?"

Hearing Asuka's tone Shinji also looked up and considered her. "…Something I overheard once… why?"

"Something I overheard too."

Shinji looked up. Asuka's head tilted down a little. Both of them were recognizing that they might be monitored. She sighed a little and turned away, filing that reference away for later and trying to turn on to other subjects. "Still want to decorate or have a house warming party or something?"

Shinji blinked. He had almost completely forgotten about that particular desire. "Y-Yeah! Er…. My place is still pretty barren."

Asuka swallowed a little. "I'd like to help you decorate when you get the stuff."

Shinji couldn't help but feel color in his face. He looked at the redhead.

There was a knock on the door again. The officer returned, opening the door. "Time's up kids. Sorry."

Shinji turned to Asuka, and then surprised her by giving her a little bow. "Take care."

"You too Shinji."

He turned for the door.

"Thank you."

He turned back. "No problem."

She returned her smile.

And then he was gone.

Asuka slept that night better than she had in years.

* * *

Kensuke had calmed down by the time the NERV car was on the surface, driving through the suburbs for the Suzuhara residence.

Touji just stared out the window.

"Well," Kensuke said, "I'm glad that's over…"

"No it ain't." Touji replied, "Yer dad's gonna have a shitstorm."

Kensuke gulped loudly and didn't say anything. He had just freed his mind from thinking about how that would go down. "How about you?"

Touji just shrugged.

The car continued on quietly.

"Hey," Touji said, "About that Russian guy."

"You mean… him?"

"Yeah." Touji replied, "What if he set us up?"

"What!"

"Sure. What if he's an operative for these guys."

"You mean NERV?"

"Why not?"

Kensuke stopped to think about that. "I… I dunno man…"

Touji said nothing more until they pulled up to his house. "Later." He said to Kensuke, leaving the car stone-faced and walking with the guard to the front door.

Kensuke, again disturbed, sat in the car quietly to ponder over a new line of thinking.

* * *

Shinji was startled to see Ritsuko Akagi in the lobby of the security wing. He almost paled. "D-Doctor Akagi?"

Ritsuko turned to face him with hands full of papers. "There you are."

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

Ritsuko smirked. "Someone let me know you were up past your bedtime."

"Bedtime?" Shinji's eyes widened a little.

Ritsuko said to the officer, "I can take him. Thank you."

"Yes ma'am!" The officer saluted, and headed back into the station to attend to other duties.

Ritsuko turned. "Come on, I can take you back to your exit. I know some quicker routes."

"H-H-How did-"

"It shouldn't take you that long to get here from your entry Shinji."

Shinji blinked. He was actually proud of the fact that he navigated over here with only a little assistance.

"Besides," Ritsuko said, "You have school tomorrow don't you?"

Shinji gulped. Yes, he had school and…

Oh.

Ritsuko noticed the blush. Smirking, she said, "Did you have a good talk with Asuka?"

Shinji blinked, realizing suddenly that he was having feelings for two separate girls. "Er… yeah… yeah… she's fine."

"I'm glad to hear it." Ritsuko said, "The past week hasn't been easy on either of you. I hope this legal maneuver clears things up once and for all…" She added under her breath, "Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass…"

Shinji blinked.

They walked in silence for a moment, until Shinji asked, "Er… what are you doing up so late?"

"I'm a senior director Shinji, I have things to be working on." Ritsuko replied. She stepped up to an elevator and pushed a button, "Though if you must know, tonight's the night to do maintenance on the MAGI."

Shinji blinked again. "Mah-Jai?"

"It's our central computer network." Ritsuko replied, "Top of the line and best in the world, of the envy of other computers across the globe. Every now and again it needs periodic maintenance, since it's the first of it's kind in the world."

"…oh."

Ritsuko smirked. "It helps to compute the performance of your Evangelions, and gives us tactical analysis data when we need it during the angel fights. It also comes up with plans and suggestions based on all relevant data."

"D-Did it help in the last battle against the… the angel?"

"Not directly. It did help us gather data about the angel, as well as crunched numbers for calculations on firing. It also helped to create the software for your targeting computer."

"I-It writes code? On it's own?"

"Almost." Ritsuko replied. She sighed a little as the elevator doors opened, "I could go into specifics, but basically yes. My mother wrote a lot of resiliency into the program."

Shinji stopped next to her in the elevator and watched her push the button. "Your mom helped make the system?"

"She designed MAGI herself." Ritsuko replied as the doors closed, "while she was a part of GERHIN."

Shinji turned his head. She wasn't facing him to see it. "O-Oh…"

"And it's going to run late. I sent Maya home at least… working with the night shift. Still, without anything to do tomorrow I can afford to sleep in a little. You, however," She turned to him, "Have school tomorrow."

Shinji looked at her, looked down and swallowed, then said, "I-I couldn't sleep… without knowing…"

"She's fine for now, and it's likely this won't get into an involved court case that you were probably imagining. Most legal issues go through the commander, or some advocate. It would only go to a civilian court if civilians were involved."

"But… aren't they?"

"No. All parties are NERV employees. You, Asuka, her mother, and so on."

Shinji looked at the elevator doors and asked his next question, "Are the judges going to be fair?"

"If you mean impartial? Likely. I've gathered that commander Fuyutsuki has been delegated to represent NERV command in the matter. Though who will represent Asuka is another question."

The elevator dinged and they stepped out on to another level. "Now," She said and pointed, "If you go down this corridor and stay with it, you'll come to the lobby of your exit. Don't take any stairs or strange turns no matter how much you feel like you're getting lost. Understand?"

"I-I think so…" Shinji nodded. He looked up at Ritsuko.

The doctor smiled at him. "This base can get really confusing, but I've lived here most of my life."

"I-I trust you doctor."

"Good. Now run along and get to bed!" Ritsuko said, smiling a little at the end.

Shinji nodded and started down the corridor. He hesitated halfway down it and looked back at her.

"Goodnight Shinji."

"Goodnight…Doctor…." He started on his way again.

Ritsuko returned to the elevator, she needed to return to her office. On the way she pondered, again, the case of Shinji Ikari.

Her mother's image was in her mind.

She put a hand to her forehead, trying to think about something else, but then sighing in the elevator as she dropped her hand. "Yes, I know. I'm a hypocrite aren't I? Damn it…."

The elevator finally opened and she briskly made her way for her office. Nobody was in the way this late at night, and her office door was already unlocked. Slipping in, she set the stack of papers down on her desk and moved to her computer.

The screensaver of Evangelion status reports cleared to the mainframe which she had abandoned a half hour earlier. She looked over the reports, nodded, and then clicked over to her mail carrier. There was a new message.

She opened it, read a few lines, and then stood suddenly in surprise. She had to re-read the mail.

* * *

"What?"

"…And?"

"Aida was scared out of his skin and Suzuhara's motivations seemed more out of defiance of NERV than any act of espionage."

"I see. They will have to be monitored nevertheless."

"Agreed. I also think we should increase the watch on that foreigner section two reported in the area. He may have put them up to this, even discreetly."

"The Russians are becoming very interesting of late. Still, they wouldn't have made a serious blunder as allowing an agent to be so easily detected."

"Then perhaps we are overestimating them."

"Perhaps. But that's up to the old men to decide. In the meantime consider the matter closed; any further trespassers will be shot on sight. I've made that very clear to the subcommander."

"Agreed."


	18. The Battle of 2A

R+

III – Sons and Daughters

The morning of Gendo Ikari would surprise most people.

Popular thought about Commander Ikari didn't consider if he was a normal man. The Commander was the Commander, and he seemed about as alien, distant, and inhuman as any other life form not of this earth. If anything was ever said about his life, it was that he never sleep and learned the secret of subsidizing entirely on coffee.

This was absurd of course. Gendo Ikari was very much a human being even if he put that aside for the moment.

His morning began like this: an ultrasonic chime went off near his head at the head of the bed he shared with his wife. It was the kind of advanced alarm system that was beyond the pay-grade of most people. Immediately he sucked in a breath, opened his eyes, blinked twice, and rose from his bed.

Normally he went into his day like the machine everyone thought he was. After so many years of working in a system to survive it he went with the flow. There were exceptions however and for some reason today was one of them. Gendo stopped two steps away from his bed and turned around to look at his wife.

Yui Ikari was sleeping soundly on her side of the bed with her back turned towards him.

It was a rare thing for both Ikaris to wake up together in the bed. Each had their own schedules and tasks to perform during the day, demands on them were high. The pressure was incredible. Their needs drew them away from one another… a necessity that Gendo forced himself to deal with. He was an adult, and adults did these kinds of things.

…But for some reason that morning a thought hit him of a different way. How it was in the first place.

He knew what people said about him, then and now, regarding his marriage. What did they know? As he looked at his wife he felt long suppressed urges well up in him once again. He could see Yui Ikari again, not the Scientific supervisor of NERV. And in that window of a moment he could look back to the vision he had long ago, once, of a family.

Her ultrasonic chime went off by the bed.

Gendo, recalled to the present, turned and walked into the bathroom to continue his morning regimen. His sunglasses were waiting for him.

* * *

Chapter XVIII

The Battle of 2-A

When Shinji Ikari opened his eyes again it was to a familiar ceiling… the first time in a week.

He stirred groggily to turn off the vibrating cell phone to wake him up. Sighing, he realized that was only snooze mode. That helped him wake up. He sat up in the bed, turned off his cell phone, then rubbed the sleep from his eyes before standing from the bed.

Some people needed a kick in the morning to get started but Shinji felt he was one who had to ramp up to being awake. He started by working in the kitchen to prepare lunch for himself and ponder over what was on the itinerary for the day.

School and class of course. He would go there to… well perhaps not learn, but to be a participant in something that adults expected of him. He thought back to his time in boarding school and wondered what some of his teachers would think of him in the situation where he was now… a wasted opper-

Oh. The date with Hikari.

Thinking of her brought warmth to his chest and elsewhere, since her naked affection for him was only more evident by the day. It was… it was a precious thing. As he put together his lunch and grabbed the back to pack it in he recognized how awesome he felt to have someone invest an interest in him, beyond mere friendship. It was special.

He snapped out of it when he would be late for the bus if he dawdled. He dressed, packed his backpack, and started for the door. He patted down his pockets to make sure everything was in the right place, and then closed and locked the door for…his…apartment.

As he turned and started down the hallway the memories of the past week came back to him. How the angel's blood was smattered across his belongings (he had to go get them soon…) when he was here with Misato. The time he carried the casserole pot down to Asuka's apartment. The standoff with Doctor Zeppelin in front of the building…

Evangelion.

Though these memories came back to him he kept walking for the Bus stop. In this thoughtful mood he tried to put together the picture of what was happening and how life had changed. Not even in his wildest speculation could he have predicted ending up in this situation one week ago, when he was riding the train to Tokyo-3.

Yet… things weren't all that bad. He was surviving with the Evangelion. He wasn't alone in opposing the Kyoko Zeppelin. He had a girlfriend. He had allies within NERV looking out for him, even if his own family wouldn't.

He looked up at the clear blue day developing over his head.

* * *

In spite of the fact that Misato Kasuragi was hospitalized with a broken leg (and only on the second day of a two-week recovery), work would not leave her alone. Misato had hoped that being in recovery and away from any computers would have spared her the chase from her clerical duties. That didn't happen.

This morning's particular messenger was boyfriend, the rugged Kaji Ryoji. On top of delivering her usual reports (with kisses and dirty suggestions), he came with a tidbit that perked her interest. "What?"

Kaji just shrugged, "It's just as I said it."

"A trial?" Misato repeated, "Over Asuka's guardianship rights?"

"That's about the size of it anyway." Kaji leaned up against the wall, "Seems our adorable little redheaded frauline pulled on some obscure law within Pilot regulations and managed to stop up the gears determined to crush her."

Misato glanced to the heavens. She had her doubts about God, but this recent revelation put another point in His favor. "About time she struck back! What's happening?"

"The Subcommander was appointed advocate of NERV. Now it's up to finding legal representatives for both parties to argue over Asuka's living situation."

"Any jury with a clue can see she's miserable under her mother's care."

"Well, that Jury will have to be the Subcommander."

"…Wait, I thought you said-"

"It's not a civilian court." Kaji said, "Nor a military tribunal. Something else."

"….What?"

Kaji glanced at the sky for a moment. Then, "An 'Internal Legal Resolution."

Misato sighed and rubbed her face, "I'm glad I'm only in tactical. Ok… who's appointed to what? Wait, I'm not on Asuka's defense am I?"

"Nope."

"…Ritsu?"

"Conflict of interest."

Misato blinked as she looked to Kaji. She brought her hands to her hips and said a meaningful phrase, "Cut to the Chase."

Kaji shrugged again, "Kyoko obviously is going to dig out someone from legal to represent her. She might be going off her rocker but she knows she's out of her depth when here title alone won't settle the dispute."

"And who does Asuka have to represent her?"

"Many of the people you and I know who could do it would be ruled out for 'conflict of interest', that's without considering legal training. Ultimately it's up to her to decide, and if she doesn't then the Subcommander is going to find someone to represent her."

Misato was looking thoughtful.

Kaji blinked.

Misato nodded a little and crossed her arms, "Well, the trial isn't for another day isn't it?"

"Today is putting things together. Proceedings begin tomorrow."

"Ok." Misato said, "I want to make a call."

"Then I'd better go." Kaji said, "I have business to see to on my end."

Misato blinked with a shade of concern in her eyes. She masked it by saying, "Don't prod your nose into any beartraps, dear."

Kaji just smiled at her as he leaned down over her bed and gave her a warm kiss. She smiled as he pulled away, and as he walked for the door asked, "Was there anything else interesting today?"

"Oh," Kaji said by the door, "There was one thing in the paper today, but I forgot to bring it."

"Then use your words."

Kaji, still smirking, put his hands in his pockets, "The world's greatest supercomputer is on tour."

Misato winced. "Who said anything about MAGI going anywhere?"

"Nobody. Our Tetsujin friend has inspired another science project to come out of the woodwork and start travelling the world. Since it isn't nuclear powered I don't think it'll have nearly as many objections."

"So how is this interesting?"

"Guess where it's going."

* * *

One she was off the premises of the NERV base, the day of Rei Ayanami was no longer a secret.

It started innocently enough even if her origin was far from innocent. The girl came out of a hole in the ground, but her first stop was at a bus station. It was a regular place for her to be at this time of day and her strangeness was witnessed so many times by the regulars that they ignored her. Ayanami, for the most part, ignored them in return.

But her mind was working. Usually it was on the needs of her Evangelion and the tests and what was expected of her. Today it was on school and what to expect today. The routine of accompany pilot Ik… no, he preferred to be called Shinji. And the class representative preferred to be called Hikari. First-name basis with the two of them that incurred a familiarity.

What precipitated this?

She was coming to terms with Shinji's need for emotional compensation by maintaining contact with her. Yet as she pondered that question she wondered if it applied at all to her. She had inferred that she wished to maintain a dialogue with Shinji and Hikari but what initiated that desire?

As she boarded the bus she took her usual seat and continued this line of thinking. She had to confess a degree of curiosity that had drawn Shinji into her sphere of attention. She had heard of this boy's existence before but it puzzled her why the Commander had not invited Shinji to live with him. Rei had plenty of time to observe other family units in action and a great many of them lived and functioned together. When she had asked the Commander about this one evening he had told her to never ask him any question of that sort again. She had put it out of her mind until Shinji physically arrived.

And yet in learning more about the boy she found a strange motivation to continue observing him. It brought a kind of stimulation to her she could not identify. The… the need of trying to become part of a community. The act of being accepted, where she was previously told such connections were irrelevant.

But if that was the case why was she introduced to an environment constructed purely for social reasons? There was no learning going on in the school, at least that divulged any knowledge that Rei would find useful. In light of this and the recognition of how logical her superiors were in their assignments, what purpose was there for Rei to be introduced to this social environment?

Could it be to propagate connections to others, as was the purpose and function of such social constructs?

Was she ordered to school to make friends?

Had she succeeded?

The thought that she had penetrated an alien landscape stuck with her all through the bus ride to school.

* * *

When not acting as a command center against alien invasions and an impending apocalypse, NERV's Command center performed a plethora of other roles. No other control center on earth could traffic as much information as NERV HQ could. It performed everything from weather monitoring to astronomy reports to trade numbers circulating through major stock markets. If there was a hub of information, NERV HQ was certainly it.

This was as much to maintain popular support as it was to gain an income from all these organizations that depended and benefited from this information.

Of course, since NERV HQ was operating beyond simple monitoring duties for advancing lovecraftian horrors, it also meant a full-time staff was needed. The staff wasn't always completely occupied but it was needed nonetheless.

This situation explained why Aoba Shurigu was at his station, strumming an air guitar, while weather patterns for the eastern hemisphere were slowly moving across his desk. He only needed to listen for the beep, which could come easily over the tunes playing in his brain.

Until he was distracted by a pair of fingers jabbing into his sides.

"GAH!"

The laughter of a woman shook the air behind him as he turned his seat. Maya Ibuki, one of the most humble women on the entire base, was smiling at him with a grin that he could not resist adoring.

"Not cool to startle me in front of a hundred buttons that could end the world."

"Oh silly," Maya replied, exaggerating a dismissive feminine wave of her hand, "Everyone knows only the commander has that button on his desk."

Jokes like this could pass freely when the superiors weren't around to hear them.

"So," Aoba asked as he clapped his hands on his knees while he sat, "Are you clear for the afternoon?"

Maya nodded readily. "Satsuki can cover for me, Eva 01's just being secured in the hangar after pulling all that I-Type gear off."

Aoba smiled, "Still can't believe that Shinji actually airwalked to the cockpit. That's gotta take guts."

Maya's attitude deflated, for she still wasn't over her involvement in the episode. Aoba snapped her out of it by reaching over and thumping her in the arm. "Hey, he's alive and we're past it."

Maya made a smile for him, but it dropped again.

"Do I have to resort to tickles?"

"No!" Maya replied hastily, laughing, and then said, "It's not that… just something that bothered Doctor Akagi this morning."

"Oh?"

Maya blinked and said, "When I passed her in the office complex today she seemed kind of flustered. She gave me just a summary of my duties and gave the break an ok without a thought. The only time I've seen her like this was when she had something huge on her mind."

"And you don't know what it is?"

Maya shook her head.

Aoba cupped his chin in his hand while he braced his elbow with the other for a moment of thought. His eyes dated back to Maya, "Could it be the trial?"

Maya blinked, "You knew about that?"

Aoba said nothing.

Maya sighed and continued, "No, I think it's something else. If she was bothered about it usually she likes to talk to me about anything involving Shinji…."

"Huhr. Hey, Hyuga?"

"Yeah?" Replied the bespectacled operator without looking away from his station.

"You hear anything that would drive the technical branch into a tizzy?"

"Sure. It was in the news this morning."

"Thanks," Aoba said absently as he spun around to his station and pulled up the internet. This was only possible when the superiors were away and it helped waste time, and it got Aoba the information he needed.

"Well, how about that."

* * *

Shinji's heart rate was understandably higher getting off the bus than it was getting on. He would be seeing Hikari soon… his girlfriend.

They had a date today.

Shinji wet his dry lips as he walked up the hill to the main building containing his classroom. Yes, he had a girlfriend. Not a thing he remotely expected when growing up under his aunt and uncle's roof. Women were inaccessible… and in a way unappealing. The superficial cares about fashion, desire, gossip… were alien to him. If you looked nice, you looked nice. Why spend energy on judging someone based superficial reasons?

Besides until now he was uninteresting to the female sex. Boring Shinji. Not a troublemaker or thrill seeker in the slightest.

Seems like he found the one woman with a rational perspective on life.

Imagining her tone of voice submerged in a breath behind a smile, coupled with a warm hug, gave him a goofy grin as he walked to class. As he approached the door he tried to contain his excitement. His innards shivered a little as he pulled open the door, though.

But his first sight in the classroom was quite off-putting.

Maybe that was too strong of a phrase, but Shinji sure felt it in that split second his eyes found Hikari.

She was there all right, behind a huge stack of papers. What de-motivated him the most was how closely the class girls were crowded around her. They all looked up now with dead expressions on their faces.

Hikari didn't even look up as Shinji walked by, and he wondered if she had even taken notice of his existence. His uncertainty lasted right up to taking his seat. He glanced over at her.

Two of the group of girls were still staring at him, and held their gaze long enough to make sure he registered their disapproval. They turned back to the others and started talking in tones he could not hear.

Shinji blinked, and then looked ahead as he placed his hands on his desk. What just happened?

Up until now, Shinji had been exempt from typical teenage drama. He was uninteresting. He wasn't so weak as to give someone a high on bullying him, but he wasn't strong enough to be awarded any attention from his peers. He faded into the background until now, something easily accomplished before.

Though he was never a participant he knew it when he saw it. He was now the target of scorn by most of the female students. Why? Well, perhaps the NERV-branded pen he was fishing out of his backpack was a message from fate to tell him that reason.

It was a little late for secrecy, but he returned the thing to his backpack while he thought over the situation. They hated him. He was a freak. How could he be rubbing shoulders with the class rep?

Just how many of them rushed to his side after Touji beat him senseless the other day?

Contradictions… Shinji grunted. He pulled out his homework and gave a thought to the unfairness of it all.

Yes, it was unfair. So was Kyoko's bullying. He had minded his own business in both cases, trying to do good, and got undue punishment for it. What the hell?

He found his fist was balled tight, and looked down at it.

Then he looked over at the gossiping girls, a hint of determination had appeared in his spine.

Rei walked in.

* * *

Asuka Soryu Langley woke up late for the first time in years.

9:30AM looked at her from the clock opposite of the bed.

As she closed her eyes and brought her comforter over her head she thought of every instance she was forced to be up early. Important people (her mother) calling her for important duties (her mother's whims) or embarking on studies and last-minute corrections to her homework (desired by her mother).

Yes, Asuka hadn't gotten far from her mother, even if she had thought living away was a reprieve. She needed to think of that ring tone and how much of an effect it had on her- even now as she thought about it.

She sucked in a breath. Tempting as it was to just sleep in for however long she wanted, any chance of independence might hang on what she does today. That thought in mind she pushed the covers off her bed and was immediately assaulted by the cold air.

The security service was kind enough to provide her pajamas, as well as a change of clothes from her apartment. She would be getting into these now, to face the day.

She had no idea of an itinerary or whatever. All she knew about the proceedings was what she garnered from a copy of the little green book the security people had given her. Asuka wasn't stupid, and presumed the laws would be changed soon to get around this contingency, but for the moment she knew some of the things she had to do.

A court case. Against her mother.

She disrobed and stepped into the shower, for unlike Shinji she was a morning bather and needed the water to wake up and rinse the sleep off her body. As she washed, she considered the ramifications of this incident if her mother were to I_win_/I. The shudder went down her body and into the drain, and she tried to follow it up with some other lines of thinking.

She would need a representative of her own. This wasn't quite a court battle, it was a negotiated dispute, but she needed to have someone who knew NERV law who could help her out.

She paused in soaping herself down to recall Ritsuko's offer of help. Maybe… maybe she could call the doctor.

She had this thought in mind when she finished her shower, but she came out of the bathroom to hear a knock on her door.

"Just a minute!" She replied as she started to dress. When she was finished she went to the door. She took a breath, paused, and opened it.

"Miss Langley," Makoto Hyuga said with a stack of papers and a laptop under his arm, "I would like to volunteer to be your representative in the domestic dispute with your mother."

Asuka blinked.

* * *

Kensuke Aida was grateful to be alive.

This was the only good thing, he saw, coming out of the disaster that was last night. He heard more out of his father than he did since his mom died years ago. There would be more changes to his lifestyle too, since then, and it was enough to make Kensuke Aida almost lament being alive to experience it.

His father, as a part of the punishment, was taking a drastic pay-cut for several months. This meant no internet for him. His allowance (such as it was) would no longer exist, and if he didn't like it he could go get a job. His father also forbade him his stash of weapons, and told him if he ever heard any more stories of urbexing, he would have Kensuke shipped to live with his grandmother.

His grandma smelled like prunes. And was into cats. Many Cats.

If he could, he would have run from the house screaming. Having no choice he took it and didn't sleep well last night. He missed the stop to school and just kept travelling downtown, getting off and hitting the Public Library of Tokyo-3. After all in all the rules-making his dad didn't say he had to attend I_school._/I

Kensuke wasn't stupid. He knew any privilege he enjoyed with his NERV could be traced back to his father, and so notify him. Kensuke couldn't claim to be a computer guru and de-facto social rebel without having a handy supply of backups, so on the public computer system he accessed one of his side accounts, and emailed acquaintances that he was grounded. He was careful at least not to say anything to trip Tokyo-03's internal security system. Knowing how China operated their internet, he was careful to take the same precautions here.

After nearly a half-hour of updating contacts to his status, he sighed and leaned back in his chair. He grunted as he realized he really didn't have anything to do. School was boring, but School at least held his attention for a while and gave him an excuse to do other things and try to hide them. He didn't have such a thing here.

His stomach solved that problem for him. Grunting he got out of the chair and left the library to find someplace to eat.

When Gendo Ikari was first initiated into SEELE his contact had said that the organization was playing "A grand game of chess with the world." Gendo had never forgotten that adage and it served him well in his planning.

It took only the span of the mayor's smile and first few sentences for Gendo to declare, "It must be a ploy of the old men."

The subcommander grunted. "They didn't even bother to give an excuse at their previously booked venue!"

Gendo reached down and turned off the projection on his desk. "The media will provide one." He swiped with his hand and moved some other documents back into the projected space where the television screen once was. Then he leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands. "Perhaps last night's intrusion was fortuitous. It will prepare us for any spies that they might try to funnel in."

"Perhaps," Fuyutuski replied, "Though the best procedure would be to sterilize those areas."

"Best, but not possible." Gendo glowered into space. "Another open door the old men use to peer into our world."

"Indeed." Fuytusuki grunted, "One of the tumors, I suppose, between our organization and theirs."

"One not to be mined by a third party."

"The Russians?"  
"The Russians, the Americans, the Chinese… any of them." Gendo's eyes slid to his teacher, "How have you dealt with the problem?"

"Some security had be to be reallocated from fringe areas to protect the sites until new measures are brought on-line." Fuyutuski replied.

"We need as few liabilities as possible. Start closing down our low-priority projects and reallocate their resources. We need to be prepared for anything the old men throw at us."

Fuytusuki arched an eyebrow. "The European Science Commission won't like us cutting loose their Project Blue contributions."

"Then we will alter the deal. They will double their tithe or their programs will be scrapped."

"Understood."

Gendo leaned forward to address the digital papers projected on his desk. When the Subcommander didn't move, Gendo turned his head back to his teacher. "You had something more to discuss?"

Fuyusuki brought the clipboard from under his arm into his grip. "The case of the second child."

"That."

"I have compiled a preliminary timetable and schedule. My best estimate is to have the matter concluded within two days."

"I doubt it will go that smoothly given Doctor Zeppelin's current state of tension."

Fuyutuski arched an eyebrow, "I'm disappointed that you think I would allow such a display."

"I would not put it past her given her recent actions." Gendo said. He held out his hand and Fuyutuski handed the physical file over.

"I should point out," Fuyutuski said, "That your son's arrival could be called an instigating factor in all of this."

"His arrival bought us another Evangelion in operational standing. For the present, that takes paramount consideration. Your directive in this manner is to ensure the outcome does not change that fact."

"Of course." Fuyutuski replied with a thoughtful look on his face.

* * *

Ritsuko Akagi thought her morning would be relatively free and empty. She could entertain the notion of getting some real sleep, something not often possible in this job. She wasn't surprised when her fears were dashed, but under duress she would confess being flustered with this latest 'development.'

The Worldwide Electronics Exposition Fair was an enormous summit of technological progress held annually in select cities across the globe. From its origins a year after the second impact, the fair came to be seen as a celebration of mankind's triumph over possible extinction. It was a celebration of the intellectual and technological might capable by human hands. MAGI had been unveiled at such a fair.

And now it would be called upon again.

Ritsuko paged through the documents detailing that last fair so many years ago. She had been there for that, but it was so long ago that it might as well have been a half-remembered lifetime from a previous incarnation. So much had changed since then.

The pain was didn't go away though.

She rubbed her forehead as she tried to sum up, again, what was going to happen. NERV was expected to have one booth at the fair to demonstrate their technological prowess. To save face (and divert the public from Evangelion disasters) they had to put on an entertaining show.

Someone said it was like a high school science fair, but for adults. Nobody would be bringing potato batteries however, figurative or otherwise.

Still if it meant displaying NERV triumphs, the trick was to find ones that could be disclosed without doing too much damage to NERV confidentiality. NERV had quite a few aces up their sleeves for any eventuality and revealing them too soon meant one less weapon if and when the time came for the organization to defend itself. As master of all technological matters, Ritsuko was the one to determine which projects to show. From there it was final approval from Yui Ikari.

But which ones!

EVA was clearly off the table. In the face of the remarks at the Jet Alone conference there was already too much information released about NERV's trump card to allow any mention of it to surface at the fair. MAGI was out too, but for another reason. That left a slew of other side projects, none of which had real direct commercial application.

She scrolled down the list of project folders that NERV had completed over the years. Even ones dated three years ago were still too hot to release to the public. Others seemed harmless enough until someone actually dissected the science that put them together- which had far-ranging consequences. It would be like giving microchip technology to a European power in the 1930s. Given NERV's adversaries, any one of them could become the modern-day nazis.

She sighed.

Well, if no headway was made here, she turned to the other point of the fair; one she was reluctant to face. MAGI.

MAGI Versus.

The centerpiece of the fair this year wasn't' MAGI. It was the thing that was challenging MAGI for supremacy in the realm of computers. Coming from Urbana Illinois in the United States, the challenger was said to be one of the first true results of attainable artificial intelligence. Ritsuko had done a cursory search on the internet but found little publicly released about this system, save that it was once considered for deployment on space-based platforms. Apparently the project nearly dead-ended until it was decided to refine the technology. And so it was. To the point where it was getting rave reviews in the states from some high-level cyberneticists.

It would be publicly unveiled at the fair this year.

Ritsuko sighed angrily.

She wouldn't know the particulars of the 'contest' until later in the week, closer to the weekend when it actually started. It could be anything from a simple side-by-side comparison to actual in-depth tests of computing power. MAGI was the fastest object in the world with the greatest depth of calculation. The competition would have to be pretty impressive to match that.

But resting on your laurels in your superiority was the fastest way to have the competition overtake you. They would have to run diagnostics on the MAGI. That, at least, was done recently. But now came the time to test for additional capabilities of her mother's machine.

Ritsuko could hardly find excitement in such a venture.

* * *

When the lunch bell rang Shinji's heart was ready to leap up with him. Instead though, he stood up slowly.

He didn't know what was going to happen, only what was going to happen up to a point. He knew what to expect of the girls' behavior but he wasn't sure what Hikari would do. That she didn't look up for him cast doubts on his judgement.

But it was now or not today, and possibly never.

He walked through the desks, approaching the front of Hikari's seat. "H-Hikari?"

It took her a moment for her to look up. In the meanwhile, the clique that encircled Hikari was staring at him.

Shinji didn't spare them a glance. His eyes were only for his girlfriend.

"Shinji H-hi…." She looked as nervous as her tone conveyed.

_What did these girls have on Hikari?_ "You ready?"

"Oh…um…"

"I thought we had a date today." Shinji said.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see a pair of the girls looking at one another.

"Oh…er…yeah…"

"And…yeah…" Shinji didn't check one of his nervous habits, and found his eyes wandering to one of the girls in an adjacent seat.

To Shinji, and to some men by extension, women were more than just a mystery. They had their good sides that only women could project, but they also had their darker sides that I_only_/I women could project. Where man was a master of physical tortures, women had mastered the psychological ones. The glare Shinji was getting right now was a kind of construct that came from the cruelty of the female sex.

In physical terms it was a deadpan expression. Not quite a neutral one, the eyes were a little wider there. But it wasn't something concentrated. The eyes were angled in such an empty way, and the face impassive but I_just_/I the right amount of frown was put into them. There was no effort on the woman's part, she was only channeling the power of her raw emotion.

To Shinji, and other men like him, it was an expression that was given to beings not even worthy of active contempt. I_Why were you born?_/I As if someone had given her the right to make such a judgement. But Shinji would reflect later on that such women were so self-centered (or centered around something) that it enabled them to project this level of dis-empathy.

There were four such faces angled at him. The fifth girl surrounding Hikari didn't seem as committed.

Shinji focused his attention back on his girlfriend. Yes, he was scared. He couldn't deny it.

But the clenched fist at his side had origins in standing up to a woman who was determined to make his life miserable.

Hikari was about to say something but hesitated when she saw Shinji's jaw quiver. She cast a glance at one of her classmates. Said classmate turned her gaze.

There was a battle of wills here. Shinji recognized this in that second. The thought hit him that he would have to raise his voice when suddenly a new voice interrupted.

"Hikari, Shinji, are you coming out to lunch?"

All heads turned.

Rei Ayanami was standing there and holding her bag.

The women turned hard stares in two directions- Hikari and Shinji. Shinji turned his eyes to the one face he caught, and read a new expression there.

_You're on first-name basis with this Freak?!_

Shinji closed his mouth. Somehow by figuring they saw Rei that way, it all made sense to him. "I'm ready. Hikari, are you coming?"

Hikari hesitated once again and then saw something new in Shinji's eyes. She didn't see his fist, but it came from the same spark. She closed her mouth. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Class rep." One of the students toned.

"That's okay," Hikari said back to them as she stood, "You can take care of it for me!" She turned back to Shinji and her hand reached out to his, sliding down his arm and entering his hand. "Let's go!"  
She turned away and left with her boyfriend without looking back.

* * *

Honestly it wasn't like Asuka had any choice. It would be fair to say she hardly knew what was going on, anyway.

But Hyuga was there to help her with that. He had already set up on Asuka's bed beside the girl and unfolded his papers and the laptop. He had been prescient about her concerns, and as soon as she agreed to his council he was a spring of information.

"Pilot Regulation 24 is an apparatus designed to handle most of the domestic affairs surrounding the pilots. It is one of three functions in the pilot contract that directly handles the pilot's living conditions during their employment. It has a few reasons for being there, the strongest of which probably because NERV couldn't operate pilots your age under Japan's Child Labor Laws.

"In this particular instance, it works like this: A mediator from the senior officer's staff is selected to be the arbiter and jury of the dispute. He represents NERV's Interests and is responsible for interpreting NERV law to find the best workable solution. In addition representatives are required to compile the cases for their parties to present to the mediator. It is also needed to provide impartial evidence to the mediator."

Asuka had been sitting on her knees, listening. She said now as she let one of her legs dangle down the bed, "You're my legal representative then."

"Correct."

"And you're compiling my case."

"Correct."

Asuka blinked with a sudden revelation as she realized any shot at getting clear of her mother relied in everything she could tell this man. "What do you know already?"

"I took the precaution of indexing files which might be of interest to me, pending your approval. I have also book-marked reports from the technological department on your performance record."

Asuka remembered that session where she had been asleep… and Doctor Akagi was watching over her. And what was said afterward.

"Now," Hyuga said and turned to her. His done dropped some, and a hint of warmth finally entered his until now business tone, "If you want to bring to light any domestic abuses or threats from your mother, I will need to know those to build your case."

Asuka blinked as she stared into space. Then she slowly lifted her shirt, but only so high.

"I tried to run away once."

Hyuga turned his eyes and saw what she was indicating. "This is physical evidence admissible in court."

Asuka lowered her shirt again.

"Are there any other instances?"

Asuka turned over her wrists. "When I was younger there were."

She spent a half-hour speaking. Hyuga's fingers flew over the keyboard.

"If she ever finds out I told you this, I-" Her voice cracked and her head lowered.

Hyuga gave her a look of compassion. His voice accented it, "Asuka, the most success I can get out of this is have a legal restraining order on your mother."

"How are you going to get that past NERV?" She asked, "My mom's handler of pilot maintenance and health!"

"There are other doctors," Hyuga said, "And there are other supervisors who can monitor your Eva statistics."

"But I don't want to trade my mother to Shinji! She'd tear him apart!"

"Nobody said that was going to happen!" Hyuga replied, and then went on when he had her attention, "Doctor Akagi can fill both positions. So can any of the other scientific department heads. As I understand it, it might be favorable to collapse Eva pilot managing all under one supervisor, anyway."

Asuka drew her knees up again. "I don't want to inconvenience Doctor Akagi." She turned her head away.

Hygua smiled. "I think if you asked her, Doctor Akagi would be more than happy to supervise your tests miss Langley."

Asuka closed her eyes.

* * *

As soon as they were on the other side of the quad, and their main building was out of sight, Hikari stopped Shinji and gave him a tight hug.

He wasn't startled. "What happened?"

Hikari parted from him and couldn't look him in the face.

"Hikari-!"

"I…" She shook her head a little. "Shinji they don't like you."

"I noticed."

"…They don't think I should have anything to do with you."

"I noticed that too."

"They're…" She swallowed, "They're going to have me removed from being the class rep."

Shinji blinked. "Well, uhm… I don't think that's-"

"Yes it is!" She replied, pleading, now looking up at him, "You don't understand how much this will hurt me Shinji! Kodama was class rep before me and it caries a tremendous responsibility!" She took in a breath and sighed it out, "If I'm dishonorably removed from the position it means it goes on my permanent academic record. Then there's my father and my sister… they're both proud that I have it. How can I go back to them and tell them what happened when it wasn't even my fault!"

She leaned forward and started to cry into the nape of his neck.

Shinji's arms came around her and hugged her tight. So, this was the threat they had over her. He looked over at Rei.

Rei blinked.

"What are they going to say?" Shinji asked as he turned his head.

"A-All those friends I-I had over… they…" She sniffed.

"There's no evidence is there?"

"Shinji," she sobbed, "Not everyone who stayed over at my house are my friends anymore."

A mote of indignation rose in him. It was so unfair! Both School AND at NERV! Unless…

An offer to leave his girlfriend alone was at the tip of his tongue.

But she just grabbed him tighter, before he could entertain speaking it.

"We'll think of something…" Shinji sighed into her ear, "Let's eat."

She nodded against his cheek.

Rei looked thoughtful.

* * *

When they returned to the classroom Shinji and Hikari weren't holding hands.

The thought crossed Shinji's mind again just to break up with her so she could keep her status, but somehow it was easier to bat the notion aside this time. He didn't want to give up on Hikari. He didn't want the bullies to win again.

But he didn't want to make Hikari feel any more terrible, either. He was feeling helpless, and so just as depressed as Hikari because he couldn't see any way out of this.

He had no magic bullet this time.

So as class droned on again he tried to come up with ways on his own to somehow short-circuit the conspiracy aimed at his hopeful girlfriend. Not even the first date and already there was drama!

Suddenly Rei stood up.

"Class Representative Hikari." She declared, "I request permission to go to the office."

Rei had interrupted the instructor in the middle of a 'lecture' about his first puppy. Today was, after all, the day when biology was supposed to be covered.

The instructor and everyone else turned their heads at Rei.

"Er…sure?" Hikari replied, shocked out of her depression.

Rei actually bowed. "Thank you, Class Representative Hikari."

With that Rei simply walked out of the classroom with her carry case in hand.

A stunned silence held the classroom for a moment, in which one of the girls blockading Hikari gave her a stern glare.

Hikari didn't look at her.

And Shinji ducked his head too quickly for them to lock gazes with him. But even he was puzzled. What moved Rei to do that?

* * *

Hyuga closed his laptop and began to gather his papers.

Asuka felt drained, but hopeful.

The man finished putting his papers together, stood, and said to Asuka, "I promise you, I'll do the best I can to help you win this."

Hyuga was halfway to the door when Asuka said, "First Lieutenant Hyuga,"

Hyuga turned.

"Why are you doing this for me? I don't even know you."

The man smiled. "A friend asked me as a favor."

"Doctor Akagi?"

Hyuga shook his head, then said, "After I submit my preliminaries, I'll be back to let you know the itinerary of the trial. Knowing the subcommander, he'll want to take care of this quickly."

"But the quickest solution is just to hand me back to my mother's control!"

"Perhaps, but it's not the most efficient," Hyuga said, "And the timing might actually be in our favor."

With that he ducked out of the door, leaving Asuka alone again after he closed it.

Asuka sighed, and as she brought her knees up again and hugged them, she wondered how Shinji was doing.

* * *

Class was dismissed.

Hikari didn't move at all as the students filed out of the classroom. Shinji also waited, mostly because he wanted to be sure the blockade was gone before seeing to his girlfriend. Once the room was clear, he stood and walked to her. He stopped beside her desk. "Hikari…"

"Shinji," she said without turning to him, "I think… I think I'm just going to resign."

"What? You mean-"

She stood and started to pack her things. "I think it's better that way, instead of being honorably forced out. That way they have nothing on me, and even if they did spread rumors, at least I'll have the decency of backing out before they axe me." She finished packing her papers, then turned to him, "A resignation is better than a termination."

"You know," Shinji said, "I almost thought about backing out on this, to make you feel better."

"Shinji," She reached out again, taking his hand. Shinji saw a glow in her eyes. He started to say something, hesitated, and smiled as she said, "You've become more important to me than position, you know? You're rare…" One of her hands came up along his neck and brushed his hair, "And I want to keep you."

Hearing that made Shinji's heart warm up a little. He squeezed her hand.

She squeezed back as she took a breath and said, "Well, let's get this over with."

The two of them left the classroom and started for the office.

A surprise was in store for when they actually got there though.

Sure the clique was there (four girls instead of five, Shinji noticed), but all of them were seated in the waiting area of the office. They all looked up at the newcomers, and the dead expressions started to form.

But before they could draw the attention of the couples in, the receptionist asked, "Can I help you two?"

Hikari walked up and swallowed. "I want to speak to the principal…"

"Oh! Well you'll have to wait in line, these ladies are ahead of you."

Shinji looked back at the four. They stared back.

"It's rather urgent…" Hikari said without turning to appease her tormentors.

"Well," The receptionist said as she picked up a phone, "He HAS been in conference for a long while with a stu-"

"Ah, there she is!" Heads lifted and turned to see the Principal emerging from his office…right behind Rei. He continued on, eyes focused on Hikari, "Come to claim your little lost lamb eh Miss Hoarki? Well, you'll be pleased to know she's been in here this entire afternoon ranting on how well you've been performing!"

Shinji blinked.

Hikari was astounded.

The four had their eyes wide.

The Principal laughed, "I've heard Miss Ayanami was quite analytical but she gave an earful! I'm pleased to hear that you've stepped firmly into Kodama's footsteps, and I'm sure your father is very proud of you."

"Wh-why…" Hikari was blushing, "Yes! Of course!"

The principal nodded eagerly. "And to think you had the initiative of giving overnight instruction to some of your classmates! The dedication! I'm sure you're well on your way to a prestigious career in education!"

The four looked squarely at Rei, but Rei was far better at giving empty gazes then they were.

"In fact," The principal continued, "I meant to get around to you one time or another, since apparently some of the faculty have been commenting on your performance as well. It's not hard to believe you're Kodama's sister!"

"Y-Yeah…" Hikari said, blushing a little nervously from being under so much praise.

Rei spoke up, "I thought it would be prudent to give a positive account of your performance, Class Rep."

Hikari blushed a little, "Thank you Rei."

The Principal turned to Shinji, "And you're mister Ikari?"

Shinji blinked, "Uh, yes sir…"

The Principal smiled. "Doctor Akagi is an old friend of mine. She handed me your papers herself and asked me to check up on your performance now and again. She seemed to think you were a bright and promising boy!"

"She…did?"

The Principal nodded, "And from what Miss Ayanami tells me, Hikari has been granting you special instruction!"

"Uh?" Shinji paused, but then felt Hikari take his hand. He looked down at her and saw a bashful smile on her face.

"Ahhh, I see!" The Principal replied, "Well, if that's the case, I look forward to great academic performance from the both... no, the three of you!" He turned to include Rei. He nodded happily, "I'm very glad you came to see me miss Ayanami, otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet such fine students!"

Hikari and Shinji laughed nervously. Shinji, seeing it only through smiling eyes, wasn't sure when he thought he saw a little smile on Rei's face as well.

The Principal came down from his jovial mood suddenly and said, "Now, these four ladies want some of my time as well, and I have to respect the attention of all my students after hours. Thank you for stopping by!"

Shinji, Hikari, and Rei thus left the administration building befuddled, but hopeful.

A thought crossed Hikari's features then. "Shinji…what if they-"

He just squeezed her hand and smiled down at her. She smiled back. "Rei,"

"Yes, Hikari?"

"Thank you. If there's anything I can do…"

"If it is not a burden, I would like to accompany you after school again on your intimate gathering."

The other two flushed. "Wh-What?"

Rei cocked her head. "A…date? I surmised with a group of people I would not be intrusive."

Hikari and Shinji looked at another, then broke into nervous laughter.

* * *

[REDACT]

R+


End file.
